Regret
by Narutoenthusiast
Summary: No matter how blatantly obvious the truth is, the human mind chooses to ignore it so as to maintain some sort of illusion. It takes a slap on the face or rather a piercing blow on his chest to realize that things probably aren't as colorful as one would expect. Naruto starts to realize that his past choices weren't leading him anywhere. Post Sasuke retrieval arc.
1. Epiphany

**Regret**

**Summary: **After Naruto and Sasuke's fight at the valley of the end, Naruto has an epiphany and everything he thought about changed. Now during his training trip with Jiraya, the blond trains like crazy, returning to the village, two and a half years later, as a new shinobi. One who vows to protect the village even if it costs his life. However, those who knew his usual nature wished he didn't change

**Chapter 1 – ****Epiphany**

Hatake Kakashi considered himself the elite. Graduating at an early age, it didn't take long enough until he was promoted to chunnin, jounin and then straight to Anbu. When the Sandaime lined him for taking a genin team, he didn't like it one bit. It got worst since all the teams who were lined with him ended up failing from lack of teamwork. When Team 7 was given to him, at first he thought it would be just like all the prior teams. However, when Sasuke offered food to Sakura, he actually considered this team to be the only one who got the idea of teamwork. Clearly, he didn't expect to carry one of his students on his arms after a chidori wound on his chest from another one of his students. Channeling chakra to his feet, he needed to get back to Konoha as fast as possible; otherwise Naruto's life would be over.

On the way, Kakashi cursed Uchiha Sasuke for what he did both against the village and against Naruto, attempting to kill him with a chidori on his chest. Most of all, he was cursing himself for two reasons. First of all, he cursed his blind trust in Sasuke and second, he cursed himself for teaching his assassination technique to someone who would use it on his best friend. After a while, the gates approached and in seconds Kakashi passed by it. He couldn't afford to wait since he needed Tsunade or Shizune right away. In ten seconds, he barged in Tsunade's office with a bloody Naruto on his hands. At first, the Hokage objected as to the reason of the intrusion, however upon seeing whose body was on Kakashi's arms, the doctor in her sprung into action and within minutes, Naruto was in a hospital bed, getting all patched up and receiving some chakra incision in order for his wounds to heal faster.

* * *

**---The next day---**

The next day, all members of the retrieval mission returned home, although some of them almost didn't make it. Akimichi Chouji was suffering from the effects of his family's chakra pills; Hyuuga Neji came with a giant hole inches away from a fatal wound. The rest of the group sustained minor injuries and was already cleared from the hospital. The leader of the mission and only chunnin of the group, Nara Shikamaru was wondering about his first leading mission and how much of a failure it was. Truth be told, no one could blame him, seeing that his team was up against jounin level shinobi and somehow survived the assault. Also, they would be able to get Sasuke back, had one Kaguya Kimimaro not stepped in to aid the enemy. However, Shikamaru, even after both Tsunade and his father encouraged him to grow as a shinobi, still blamed himself for almost getting two or three of his friends killed.

That doesn't mean that the Nara heir would ever give up the path he chosen. Not because it would be so damn troublesome as he put it, but as his dad put it, not every mission goes according to plan and that the failures exists to show what needs to be changed or improved. _Shikamaru, use this failed opportunity to improve your abilities as both a shinobi and a leader. Use this mission to be better prepared for the future so that mistakes like this can no longer occur_ – Said Shikaku at the time and Shikamaru acknowledged these words to heart. He would get stronger and he would improve his abilities. _Man, this is troublesome but I'll ask Asuma-sensei to help me with training_ – Thought Shikamaru as he went home to rest after what seemed to be the longest mission of his life so far.

However, while Shikamaru found the answer to his questions, there was one specific blond who was lying on the hospital bed, not wanting to see anyone right now. He just looked outside as the sun was about to leave Konoha for the day and let the moon do its job. One would find it strange to see a usually hyperactive boy choosing, instead, to look at the window in pure reflection of the current events that occurred. However, one single event still didn't let his mind be. If it wasn't for the damn fox, Sasuke's chidori would've killed him by either piercing a lung or the immense amount of blood loss. Naruto wondered if truly, Sasuke was being controlled by Orochimaru as he as well as everyone presumed. Nonetheless, only Naruto himself could vow for who was in control of the Uchiha's body at the moment, simply because he was the one who fought him. For the first time since he met Sasuke, Naruto was in doubt over Sasuke's behavior. Of course, he knew Sasuke was a brooding bastard, but never did he think Sasuke would pierce his lung so ruthlessly before.

These events made Naruto realize that maybe he was the only one being delusional as to believe that Sasuke wouldn't be capable of something like this. Right before the chidori attack, Sasuke did admit that Naruto was his best friend, however after the attack, the blond questioned himself as to the Uchiha really understanding what meant the expression 'best friend'. Killing someone they consider a friend, it would be safe to say the person was mad, but to kill a best friend, it would be like saying the man didn't have blood running through his veins. He remembered how much the others suffered as well trying to bring Sasuke back and it sickened him to realize that had Sasuke not left, none of his 'real' friends would be injured in the first place. For the first time, since he met the Uchiha, Naruto became skeptical over his 'friendship' with Uchiha Sasuke. _What if Sasuke was always like this and the cursed seal was just the push needed for him? If such a thing was true, then why did I ever bother? Why did I even bother to see if I surpassed him or not?_

Those were the thoughts that now occupied Naruto's mind up to the point of him going through every experience that he had inside his mind and wondered why he focused only on beating the traitor than trying to improve the areas he lacked. Naruto immediately felt like he played the part of an idiot all this time. He was remembering every single screw up he ever committed and how delusional he was for thinking that with just kage bunshin and an incomplete rasengan, he would be able to grow as a shinobi. He now acknowledged that everything he ever thought about, everything he ever holds on to wasn't what it should be. Not focusing enough at the academy, not focusing enough to learn the basics before attempt the harder techniques. In fact, he remembered only passing the academy because he was able to do a technique that didn't even require a lot of knowledge to begin with. The **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shadow Clone Technique) did only require one hand seal and lot of chakra to waste. The only thing he needed for this technique was to be able to mold chakra and that he learned just after he entered the academy.

Now grinding his teeth in agony upon not applying himself when needed in the past, Naruto cursed his very existence and also his lack to concentrate on his goal. This was the scene that a certain silver-haired jounin saw upon opening the door. Kakashi knew Naruto didn't want to see anyone and he was worried for his student. Usually, Naruto wouldn't behave like this and truth be told, Kakashi was a little frightened that this event ended up closing Naruto's heart for good. He understood that Sasuke meant to Naruto just as Uchiha Obito meant to him and if Obito ended up wanting to kill him, Kakashi would be desolated right now. Naruto, upon acknowledging his sensei's presence, kept staring at him with a disapproving glare since he thought he told everyone that he didn't want to see anyone right now. "Can I help you sensei?" – Asked Naruto with a tone that showed Kakashi that his presence was unwanted right now.

Kakashi for his part awoke from his wonderings and turned to study Naruto's strangely dark blue eyes right now. Usually, Naruto's eyes displayed a bright ocean blue that could be quite enticing, however now the Naruto in front of him wasn't the real Naruto. "Well, can't a sensei come to visit his student? I happen to know that you didn't want to see anyone right now, but I just wanted to talk for a second" – Said Kakashi as he picked up a chair on the far corner and placed it so that he could seat right in front of Naruto. The blond for his part eyed Kakashi's movements and wondered what the hell Kakashi wanted to talk to him in the first place. Naruto assumed that Kakashi would try explaining a different version of the situation, maybe try running some damage control on it, but he allowed Kakashi to begin the conversation to which the silver-haired jounin nodded and turned to state.

"Listen Naruto, I'm here to talk to you in regards of what you're feeling right now towards your teammate?" – Asked Kakashi, but the look that Naruto returned to him was something he never thought he would see. Naruto's eyebrows were slightly lifted, as in Kakashi just said something 'curious' to the blond. Naruto was also smiling as well, but it was not even remotely close to one of his goofy smiles that everyone grew accustomed to. It was an ironic smile, particularly used when someone uses sarcasm to answer a question.

"Explain the word 'teammate' for me, Kakashi-sensei. I may not have much experience with this kind of thing, but I know that 'teammates' don't try to kill their 'teammates' with a chidori on the chest. It was ironic, though that just moments before he did this, he considered me as his best friend. If I he did this to his best friend, I don't want to know what he does to his enemies" – Retorted Naruto as in Kakashi just committed the biggest mistake of all times. However, he knew he was right and also Kakashi knew he was right. After hearing the response, Kakashi wasn't surprised nor was he shocked to hear Naruto speaking like this. Nonetheless, Kakashi's reason for visiting wasn't only related to how Naruto was doing, but also to hear the blond's report on their fight. When questioned, Naruto told him everything the occurred after he left Rock Lee to fight the Kaguya person. After Kakashi lifted himself from the chair, he wished nice recovery to Naruto and went for the door, before being stopped by the blond.

"Kakashi-sensei, I…I want to ask you something?" – Said Naruto to which Kakashi nodded and turned to stare the blond who by now was remembering what he was thinking just before his sensei entered the room. "Do you believe in the word 'regret'?" – Asked Naruto, earning a suspicious look from Kakashi, who clearly didn't see this coming, specially one coming from Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who always screamed his 'never giving up' slogan. After he returned to seating at the chair he once was, Naruto continued. "Tell me something, Kakashi-sensei and be honest about it. On your point of view, how I stand in terms of shinobi abilities?" – Asked Naruto once again, now showing Kakashi what was this all about.

Turning to think for a bit, at first he wondered why Naruto was asking said question, but thought about it either way. On a rational point of view, Kakashi didn't believe Naruto to have what it takes to become a ninja. Even though he was, indeed, a chakra house, his chakra control wasn't near as good as an average genin. His speed skills were mediocre at best and his taijutsu is close to street fight as possible. However, he knew that once Naruto fixated his mind on something, he was certain Naruto would manage to finish no matter what. When he looked at Naruto's eyes, he knew Naruto was waiting for a straight answer here, so he gave his point of view. "If you want an honest opinion about it, you have a long way in front of you if improvement is what you seek. Your chakra control isn't appropriate and your fighting skills are close to a street fight. Above all things, a genin level shinobi has to have at least the academy level taijutsu and above water walking level of chakra control. Your ninjutsu could use some work, but this area is the least of your concern" – Stated Kakashi before he looked to Naruto, waiting for him to explode and demand him to take everything back, but surprisingly he didn't.

Naruto just stood there staring at Kakashi for a moment, before smiling and nodding in appreciation. "I appreciate the honest answer Kakashi-sensei and I was wondering if you could help me with something. I can't leave here for another two days, so might as well get to training. Would you mind picking some books that will help me understand some concepts better" – Asked Naruto to which Kakashi looked at him as in Naruto grew another head. Naruto wanting to read books was really something he didn't expect. Nonetheless, Kakashi just nodded in affirmative and asked what he needed. "Thanks, well I was wondering if the library had any scrolls on after-academy taijutsu and chakra control. Also, I'm sure there is a book on ninjutsu I could learn apart from the two I already know" – Stated Naruto to which Kakashi nodded and said he would see what he could find and then return soon.

* * *

**---A few hours later---**

After giving Naruto some books about some forms of taijutsu, chakra control and D to C ranked ninjutsu techniques, Kakashi was in front of Tsunade explaining Naruto's fight to her and also expressing his concerns about the blond. Tsunade was impressed about hearing Naruto applying himself in studies and told Kakashi of what Jiraya wants to do with Naruto, once he received clearance from the hospital. "Kakashi, Jiraya is going to take Naruto with him for a two and a half years training trip. He plans to teach Naruto better deals with the kyuubi's chakra as well as focus on some points the blond lacked in his shinobi education. Now considering that Naruto is already studying to correct his flaws, maybe Jiraya can initiate him on more advanced forms of Ninpou (Ninja arts). Now, you're saying that Naruto is now skeptical towards Sasuke" – Said Tsunade, with the late statement sounding like a question.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama; According to him, someone who tries to kill him doesn't deserve to be called 'teammate'. It was clear in his eyes, how much hate and anger he is feeling right now. I can only worry about his path now, that whatever innocence yet left in him, now it was completely shattered by Sasuke's doing" – Said Kakashi, still looking down like he was considering the event to be somehow his fault. Looking at Naruto losing his innocence was enough to shatter whatever confidence Kakashi had in himself both as a shinobi and as a teacher. Also, when Kakashi laid out Naruto's flaws, Kakashi knew that he should be the one correcting it, since Naruto was his student after all. Also, he expected Naruto to shout about not receiving fair treatment, but instead all the blond did was appreciate his honest answer and ask for some books so that he could improve the areas he lacked at the moment. To Kakashi, if felt like Naruto didn't need him for much. It went without saying, though, that his pain was visible and Tsunade caught it easily.

"What are you thinking Kakashi? What is it on your mind right now?" – Asked Tsunade, a little worried about seeing Kakashi's dejected face looking down the floor as in he was the one to blame for this whole situation ever occurring. Tsunade was surprised to see Naruto asking for some books and wondering why he didn't come for Kakashi for help. It couldn't be that Naruto didn't consider Kakashi to teach him what he needs to know, however if that was the truth, then something happened to led him to think about this. Lifting his head to look at the Hokage in the eye, he answered with all honesty possible.

"Seeing Naruto asking for books to help him improve, made me realize where I made a mistake. Out of pointing out Naruto's mistakes, not one time I set myself to correct them. Not even when he managed to succeed in passing to the last phase of the chunnin exams, did I try to improve his abilities. Instead, I focused on Sasuke and placed Naruto under the hands of Ebisu, before Jiraya came up and taught him some stuff. Naruto must believe that he wouldn't get any help from me, so he chose to train by himself. I guess I'm not a competent teacher as I led myself to believe" – Said Kakashi to which Tsunade sighed, but she had already figured something like this happened. Speaking of Naruto as a subject, she could easily find a number of things that needed correction, however Kakashi ended up neglecting the boy training and that cost him dearly, had the kyuubi's chakra not helped Naruto.

"Kakashi, I understand how you feel, but bare in mind that not everything is lost. Naruto will receive the training he needs from Jiraya and I'm sure he'll come back an entirely different shinobi. I just hope that he doesn't come back a different human being, though, but that's something to worry for later. Also, since I nominated Sakura as my apprentice, I'm afraid team seven is adjourned until Naruto comes back from his training trip. Now, the village is soon to recover its financial support it once had and more missions request are coming. I'm placing you on some of them. Present here tomorrow at 10 for debriefing and I consider that you're not late this time, if you know what's right for you" – Said Tsunade, more like threatening Kakashi to which said man swallowed hard and left the place.

* * *

**---With Naruto---**

After Kakashi brought him the books, Naruto didn't waste time and took the taijutsu book. He initially thought about using kage bunshin all the time to do the fighting; however using said technique ended up misdirecting his concentration to the point of his attacks being pitiful to watch. As Naruto went through some advanced forms of taijutsu, he was remembering some aspects of the academy taijutsu style, which was good since he could practice now when he leaves the hospital. Defensive positions, offensive positions, Naruto was recollecting everything he saw at the academy and he was remembering that he didn't use it once during his missions.

It was already late at night, but the blond didn't want to sleep right now. He's been lying down for enough time to condemn sleeping, so he instead focused on studying and improving his knowledge. He considered sleeping later, since he wouldn't be able to leave the premises anyway, so he continued reading through several taijutsu katas, which consisted of attack and defensive forms of the fighting style. It didn't take long to finish the book, since it contained a number of images to explain the positions rather than an actual text.

Moving on, he took the chakra control book and was surprised to see that water walking and tree walking are just genin level chakra control. According to the book, the next level would be suspending a kunai on top of the ninja's hand using chakra to sustain the object in the air. Naruto learned that in order to attain this level of chakra control, he had to constantly exhale a thin layer of chakra off his hand in order to keep the kunai suspended. He also learned that this exercise is extremely complex to do, simply because just like all kinds of chakra control exercises, using too much chakra will send the kunai flying and too little, the kunai wouldn't even leave the ninja's hand.

He kept reading the book on chakra control all night and didn't even bother to look when the first ray of sunlight entered his room. He was few pages from finishing the book and his brain was already filled with valuable information both on taijutsu katas and advanced chakra control exercises. Minutes after, he closed the book and looked outside for a while. So many information being hidden and he didn't even bother thinking about reading this earlier_. _There was only one book left to read, but this one he could wait a little bit. His head was already hurting from reading two books all night and he guessed a little rest was a must.

Before, though, he turned to look outside one more time and managed to see a couple of ninjas jumping through rooftops in speeds he never seen before. _They must be channeling chakra through their legs to accelerate their movements; I guess I could do that as well. That would improve my chakra control as well _-Thought Naruto as he closed his eyes and slept instantly. Little did he know, though, that a toad sennin was observing him all the time, since he arrived in town. Jiraya heard from Tsunade and Kakashi that Naruto chose to study ways to improve some of his flaws and he couldn't help but be surprised about seeing Naruto reading not only a book, but two books all night.

Jiraya considered focusing more on controlling Kyuubi's chakra, however seeing the level of focus that the boy attained, he guessed that making him stronger, would be better. A stronger body had a stronger spirit and a stronger spirit wouldn't be subjected to being controlled by anyone. "This Naruto is a wild card, isn't it?" – Asked Jiraya presumably to no one at all, until Kakashi's figure appeared hiding in the shadows, nodding.

"I guess his last fight showed a lot to him and now he's correcting his flaws. Those books I gave him actually contained chunnin level material. I guess this way I can make up for the lost time with him" – Said Kakashi while reading his all favorite book, earning a smile from the pervert sannin who in turn, acknowledged Kakashi's feeling of guilt until Kakashi once again manifested. "Now that you're taking him with you, I believe he will improve a lot more than with me. After all, you were the one who taught him the rasengan, water walking and **kuchiyose** (summoning technique), where I, on the other hand, taught him only tree walking" – Said Kakashi to which Jiraya nodded.

"Don't be this way Kakashi. Regret is not a word ninjas should rely on. Also Naruto is now on his way to become a fine shinobi, which was quite surprising to me at least, since when I first saw him, the brat was impulsive and annoying. I wonder if I should begin elemental training with him during the trip. Wonder what element is his chakra aligned with?" – Asked Jiraya mostly to himself, but Kakashi couldn't help but smile, since he would know this information in a while.

Looking to the room once again, Jiraya saw Shizune entering and checking on Naruto's condition before writing on his file and leave the room. One thing that worried Jiraya was that Naruto didn't have visitors, but then he remembered someone saying that Naruto wished to be left alone, so he didn't bother. However, just as he was about to turn and leave, he saw someone entering the room and it turned out to be a few of his comrades, namely Sakura, Ino, Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji. After sneaking in, the group turned to watch the sleepy Naruto and a few noticed the books next to his bed.

Sakura wondered why Naruto wanted to be left alone just like everyone else did. She eventually went to check the books and was surprised to see Naruto reading for the first time. The group considered waking him up to talk to him, however it seemed that all of them chose to just look at him and wonder how could someone so hyperactive could sleep so peacefully like that. The sunlight didn't bother the blond at all and the light brightened his hair up to the point of showing a different image of Naruto to those who knew him.

"He seems different, somehow" – Said Ino, standing next to Shikamaru and Chouji, getting nods from everyone present, except for Sakura who in turn, kept looking at him. Sakura wanted to hear confident words coming from the blond, words like 'next time they will be able to bring Sasuke back' or 'I won't rest until we bring him back'. With Sasuke gone, Naruto was now her only source for strength. She wanted Naruto to tell her about Sasuke's behavior, since the report on the mission was considered confidential to genin ears, apart from those who participated in the mission.

"I really wished to know more about what happened out there, though. Rumors had it that Naruto returned deeply hurt from the fight, but Sasuke wouldn't do such a thing to Naruto. They are teammates and friends" – Said Sakura, more like asking all those present for confirmation, but neither of them shared the same opinion. Neji, for instance, chose to reply against Sakura's comment, since he used to be like the Uchiha in some way.

"Sakura-san, I don't concur with your assessment over the Uchiha. It was because of him, we all came back with near fatal wounds. Also, Naruto fought with the Uchiha so it's only logical to assume that the injury was caused by him. Sasuke is in darkness right now and such a feat wouldn't be far from his kind of behavior. I happen to know that since until I fought against Naruto, I used to be like this as well. Naruto rescued me from the darkness, but he couldn't do the same thing for Sasuke" – Stated Neji to which Sakura looked at the stoic Hyuuga, but couldn't counter his argument. She knew how cold Sasuke became after the incident with Orochimaru.

"I don't mean to hurt you Sakura, but Sasuke's actions were appalling and constitute treason to our village. Maybe you should consider moving on and focus more on your training together with Tsunade-sama" – Said Ino, expecting to be contradicted by the pink haired genin, but instead Sakura just kept looking at Naruto and wondering what was in his mind right now. Was that the answer now, giving up? Truth be told, Sasuke never bothered asking for help or anything, so why was she so persistent on bringing him back. She didn't know whether or not Naruto gave up on bringing him back.

"I don't know Ino, I just don't know what to do. He always was distant to all of us, but as a team, we managed to form a little bond between us. I will let the choice fall on Naruto. If he decides to go after him, then I'll go with him, however if he decides to give up, then our bond is broken and things will never be the same as it once was. I….I think I'm going home now guys. I don't have the strength to hear what Naruto has to say yet" – Said Sakura before moving towards the door. However, as she reached for the doorknob, a certain grumbling startled her and she turned to see Naruto just waking up and looking at the ones present.

"Hey, how long have you been here and why didn't you wake me up?" - Asked Naruto, eyeing everyone and waiting for a response. It was Shikamaru who explained that since he was sleeping, they didn't want to wake you up and how troublesome would be to do such a thing. Needless to say, Naruto dismissed the issue since it was pointless to comment further. "So, how is everyone?" – Asked Naruto, though now the difference was plainly visible to all of them. Naruto's once crystal blue eyes now were like dark blue eyes and where he always smiled; now his face was akin to a bothered person.

The group exchanged a few monologues like 'I'm fine' and 'alright' to which Naruto nodded and stretched a little bit. Sakura's hear was pounding like crazy since she now would know about what happened with Sasuke and Naruto. However, she hesitated to come forward with the question and that was pretty much visible. She secretly appreciated when Ino asked Naruto as to why he didn't want to see anyone right now.

After hearing the question, Naruto explained his epiphany to everyone and also explained the book he was reading all night. Along the explanation, the group was stunned and now wondered what triggered him to think like this. When he was about to explain what happened, Shikamaru stopped him saying that the details of said mission was considered restricted to genin ninja apart from those who participated in the mission to which Naruto acknowledged and stopped talking. Naruto heard about Sakura being apprenticed to Tsunade and congratulated her.

However, everyone saw how Naruto addressed Sakura and all of them wondered where went that crush of the blond. Sakura, of course, was the first to notice and that came somehow as a higher shock than Sasuke deserting the village. Sakura often times found Naruto to be annoying asking to go out with her, but when he stopped doing it, she now missed it.

"Well, since Sakura will be training with Tsunade, I guess I'm on my own, then. Someone of Kakashi-sensei's caliber won't be held up to teach one single genin. No matter, though, these books taught me a lot and I can't wait to leave this place and begin training" – Said Naruto, taking his three books and laying them on top of his bed. The group, though, wondered about Naruto's training, since all of them concurred with him about Kakashi. Little did the group know, that said person heard it all and sighed before turning to Jiraya.

"Quite humble of him, wouldn't you say Kakashi? Quit worrying about it, when I'm through with him, he'll be ten times stronger, trust me on this" – Said Jiraya to which Kakashi nodded and left. After seeing Kakashi leaving, Jiraya turned to look at Naruto and wondered about a few things. _I'm glad Naruto isn't fixed on rescuing the Uchiha boy. This way, his growth won't be hindered by simply overcoming the Uchiha. I guess my sensei days are up once again_.

Back to Naruto's room, silence ruled the place. Sakura managed to ask Naruto of his intentions towards Uchiha Sasuke and he eyed Sakura with what seemed to be a sarcastic smile. Naruto thought quite a lot, but he acknowledged the fact that he didn't think of Sasuke at all, other than the fact that the Uchiha tried to kill him. Oh, he didn't need to think about it, since the answer was already clear in his mind, however because of the secrecy towards the mission, he had to hide some aspects of what happened and focus more on Sasuke's reasons.

"Sakura, in my opinion, you can't bring back someone who doesn't want to return. Sasuke left because he thought it would be better for him, than staying in the village. Any missions towards rescuing him would turn to failure simply because he doesn't want to return, nor do I wish to go after him. Some aspects of the mission led me to believe that Sasuke was a loose cannon just waiting for a little push. So, I don't intend to go after him anytime soon, unless the Hokage orders me to do so" – Explained Naruto before seeing Sakura lowering her head to looking towards the ground and left the room. She didn't expect Naruto's explanation to be so unnervingly accurate and she found no counter-argument for him.

The rest of the group wished him a good recovery and all of them left. After that, Naruto picked up his last book about ninjutsu and turned to read it. Inside, Naruto saw the three academy jutsus and even some advanced ones to use like **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu) and **Bunshin Daibakuha **(Clone Explosion Jutsu). Also, he saw a technique called **Gyorai Shin no Jutsu **(Torpedo Needle Jutsu) and read about the technique. So far, all of these techniques were relatively easy to do, since the first two required a technique similar to the kage bunshin and the last one Naruto just had to mold chakra correctly through a correct set of hand seals. However, the next ones were purely elemental jutsus and Naruto wouldn't be able to do since he didn't know how.

Seeing the rest of the book was divided into elements, Naruto sighed and closed his book. He was going to leave it at the table in front of him when two papers fell on his lap. Lifting an eyebrow, Naruto picked them and saw that someone sent him a message.

_Naruto, _

_I see you noticed that apart from some jutsus, this book contains mostly elemental jutsus. So, the next paper is a special one. This paper is what we use to determine a ninja's element. Every shinobi has a link towards a certain element which means that he or she will be able to perform jutsus towards that element easier than others. As you know or don't know, there are five elements: Fire, Lightning, Wind, Earth and Water. Therefore, by channeling chakra to this paper, you'll be able to find which element you are best suited with. After channeling chakra to the paper, the paper will either get soaked (water), burn (fire), turns to dust (earth), crumble (lightning) or split in half (wind). _

_Kakashi._

After reading it, Naruto turned to look at the paper and studied for a second. After a moment, he shrugged it off and did just like Kakashi's explanation said. He channeled chakra for a while, before he saw the paper splitting in half, indicating that he contained a wind affinity. "Wind, huh? It's very rare to have such an affinity Naruto" – Said Kakashi, earning the blond's attention only to see that not only Kakashi was there as well, but also Jiraya.

"What do you mean by saying 'rare', Kakashi-sensei?" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraya chose to fill in for him. "Since we're in Fire Country that means the majority of our shinobis possess a fire affinity, which is quite opposite to wind. Other affinities, although less common than fire, are also in abundance in Konoha like earth and water, with lightning being second last and wind being last" – Said Jiraya to which Kakashi nodded as well as Naruto.

"So that means any knowledge towards wind is limited in Konoha" – Said Naruto, gaining nods from Kakashi and Jiraya. Truth be told, he didn't need much to work with anyway. His book explained about fuuton chakra control exercises, so the techniques he could learn from someone with knowledge in the area. Lifting his head once again to face his senseis, he wondered why Jiraya was there and not focusing on his research as he often did. Upon voicing it, Jiraya snorted at the blond for his comment, but explained about the training trip.

Needless to say Naruto was surprised upon seeing that he would leave the village for that long, but he wondered why he needed to get out of the village to which Jiraya explained that aside from training, Jiraya would be protecting him from the Akatsuki, thus satisfying the blond's curiosity. Truth be told, Naruto wanted nothing more than train to correct his flaws and training under Jiraya would enable him time to correct them and also learn a lot.

Jiraya explained that they would leave as soon as he was cleared from the hospital to which Naruto acknowledged it and appreciated the opportunity to train. After the jounin and sannin left the room, Naruto picked up his book and turned to look at the fuuton section and how to manifest fuuton chakra.


	2. The promise of a life time

**Chapter 2 – Promise of a life time**

The next day, Naruto had to say the stuff he saw on the ninjutsu book about fuuton ninjutsu and safe to say, he was really cursing himself right now. So much information kept hidden from him and only now did he choose to take a moment of his life to actually read. It was only after the nurse that checked on him came here to discharge him from the hospital that he took his clothes and left straight to a training ground where he could train and incorporate everything he learned through reading during his stay in the hospital. After all, Naruto didn't want to waste any more time than he already did. He now knew that in order for a shinobi to grow strong, he or she had to have the strength and will to never give up and always fight through numerous obstacles that appear through life.

Immediately after arriving in one of Konoha's many fields designated specifically for ninjas to train, Naruto went to one of the taijutsu logs on the field and began to beat the hell of it by going through the katas that he learned from the book. Although he knew his form was still far from perfection, he also knew that taijutsu required practice, so it wouldn't be possible for him to just read a book and immediately know how to do it. Nevertheless, he continued to beat the log in hopes of getting it right. After a while, he looked at his dirty hands and a few wounds from beating a log repeatedly and remembered when Lee was fighting Sasuke right at the beginning of the chunnin exams. Closing his hands once again, forming fists, he looked once again the log and began once again, the katas this time, adding some kicks as well. This time, however, Naruto found he was better than before and he realized that Lee was right. Only through harsh training, can the ninja evolve. Stepping away from the log for a bit, Naruto began the katas on pure air, like he was in a showdown of martial arts.

It wasn't as painful and Naruto could see that the speed of his movements was increasing periodically. It was only after two hours that he sit on the ground and looked up as the sunlight obscured his viewing for an instant. It went without saying that Naruto felt better than ever before. He felt like he already improved a little bit and now his taijutsu wouldn't be considered 'street fighting' like Kakashi mentioned before. Getting up once more, Naruto changed the subject and went to ninjutsu. The three jutsus he saw in the book were, in theory, easy to do, but just like taijutsu; one couldn't hope to master something just by reading it in a book. Picking one shuriken, he threw towards the log, Naruto made the hand seals necessary for **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shuriken shadow clone jutsu), however when approximately four shurikens should have appeared only two did instead and none of them had the same properties as the original one.

Such a result was expected since Naruto took close to an hour to master the kage bunshin no jutsu. This new technique didn't waste as much chakra the shadow clone, but it did require a considerate amount. Taking another one, he tried again, only for the same thing to happen. No matter, though, he would be able to learn it just like he was able to do the kage bunshin. It took him 10 tries to be able to master the technique and the last one, he was able to create close to 10 clones of the shuriken and all of them pierced the log in multiple locations, thus completing the technique, but not without its price, though, as Naruto felt on the ground from slight fatigue. It didn't matter, though; he did it just like he would complete the other two as well. However, his stomach growled, hence why he grabbed some shurikens that was stick on the log and went to Ichirakus for some lunch. Of course, he changed about the way he saw things, but that doesn't mean his taste for food changed.

After setting down on the bench, Naruto asked for some miso ramen to which old man Teuchi greeted him and went to make his bowl. As the noodles were being prepared, Teuchi asked about Naruto's training with one of the sannins and congratulated the boy on the opportunity. Naruto appreciated and said that he would be stronger and don't waste more time than he already wasted for petty reasons. Teuchi was confused at first, but waved it off seeing it was Naruto and Naruto was impossible to understand. After paying the old man, Naruto said to take care since he wouldn't come back for a while to which Teuchi smiled and wished the blond a safe trip.

Upon returning to the training ground, Naruto remembered the needed hand seals for the **Gyorai Shin no Jutsu **(Torpedo Needles Jutsu) and also the theory behind the technique. According to the book, the ninja must mold his chakra towards creating tons of thin layer shapes and then throwing it at the enemy. Of course, the book made it as easy as a simple henge, but the blond knew better that chakra manipulation was a chunnin level material. Nevertheless, he was committed to doing all three of the techniques before Jiraya could come to pick him up, so he immediately got to work. Little did he know, though, that a few people were looking for the missing blond.

* * *

**===At the Hospital===**

Jiraya, Tsunade and Kakashi were standing in what used to be Naruto's room only to find it was empty. Naruto's close was gone too, except for his orange jacket which was tossed on the ground near the window, thus showing them the obvious, the boy escaped the hospital and now they have to find him. Tsunade was furious at the head nurse for discharging the blond, even after she made it clear that only she or Shizune were authorized for such a thing. "Well, Jiraya I guess you have to find your student out there. You and him are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning, so take your time" – Said Tsunade before leaving the hospital room, thus leaving Jiraya and Kakashi inside.

"Where do you think he is right now, Kakashi?" – Asked Jiraya, actually a little concerned with the blond, since he didn't expect the damn imbecile to run off seconds after being released from the hospital. Kakashi for his part was reading his book and didn't pay attention to what the pervert was saying, earning a vein popping from the sannin's forehead, who in turn, sighed and shunshined out of the room. Seconds after, Kakashi lowered the book and activated his sharingan to see if Naruto left a trail of chakra to follow. True to Kakashi's wonder, looking at the window, Kakashi's sharingan spotted Naruto's chakra as he jumped through the rooftops, heading to what appeared like a training ground a couple miles north. Smiling at the boy for pumping chakra to his legs and increases his speed, Kakashi started following the path Naruto took.

He somehow, knew that the blond wouldn't take long before practicing what he learned and he began to wonder if he, perhaps, he should have done this a long time ago. If Naruto was already able to do one of the techniques on the book and settle for the right taijutsu stance, Kakashi would've been wrong about the blond. Truth be told, the jounin always presumed Naruto would quit being a ninja, since he didn't have what It takes. However, as the time passed and Naruto was able to do stuff that no one would think it was possible. Learning the three steps to the rasengan in little more than a month was outstanding to say the least. The Yondaime Hokage took three years to create it and Jiraya, one of the sannin, took four months to learn. It was amazing that Naruto reduced that timing to only a month.

Kakashi remembered seeing at the book he selected for Naruto regarding ninjutsu and he remembered that apart from the elemental ones, they were three jutsus that Kakashi would've wanted to teach Naruto, since it really matched Naruto's unpredictability attacks; **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shuriken Shadow Clone),** Bunshin Daibakuha** (Clone Explosion Jutsu) and Gyorai Shin (Torpedo Needle). There were tough to master, but once he manages, he would be able to add three very powerful and very handy jutsus to his arsenal, not to mention the fuuton techniques he would be learning with Jiraya on his travel.

After the last rooftop, Kakashi saw the blond and also managed to see that he was doing the Tatsu (Dragon) seal, which was the last one needed for the Gyorai Shin, before Kakashi's eyes widened out of proportions. After Naruto finished the hand seals sequence, tons of chakra needles formed around him, before Naruto moved his hands towards the Hitsuji (Ram) seal and shooting the needles forward the log, thus making tons of tiny holes which would kill any enemy easily. Kakashi wondered how much time Naruto was training, since the hour of his hospital release was three hours ago. Kakashi couldn't figure out how Naruto already learned this jutsu in three hours and thought about it for a while. How could someone, with no good history at the academy, learn advanced jutsus so easily? Would it be because he got the chakra capacity of a jounin? No, Jiraya already taught him the water walking exercise, so it couldn't be high chakra capacity. It was another thing, definitely was. Kakashi wondered if Naruto was a genius in disguise, but then again, he shouldn't be surprised at yet another surprising feat from Naruto.

After completing the technique, Naruto kneeled on the ground from extreme chakra usage for the day. He cursed not having enough chakra to complete the third technique, but thought again since the Bunshin Daibakuha required a lot of chakra at disposal and Naruto now didn't have enough. He figured that some rest would do the trick and his chakra would come back, so he just went to a tree nearby and sit down near it while admiring his work so far. His taijutsu was coming along nicely and he just added two new jutsus for him to rely on while fighting. The last technique, though, was what Naruto wanted to master the most for the simple reason of using it as a trap. Summoning a lot of kage bunshins and place some of the exploding ones in the middle so that when the enemy begins hitting them one by one, eventually he would be hitting the exploding one and would be sent flying because of it.

Back to Kakashi, he was looking down at Naruto since the blond happened to pick the same tree he was hiding in order to rest up a bit. At first, Kakashi considered just falling to the ground and greeting his student. However, for some reason, he hesitated. He didn't want to meet those same eyes he saw at the hospital. Kakashi just didn't have the words to talk to him right now; after all it was him the one who taught Sasuke the chidori who in turn used it to pierce Naruto's flesh, thus almost killing the blond if the Kyuubi wasn't inside him. The jounin considered saying he regretted doing what he did, but he had a gut feeling that Naruto would close up once more and say 'it was alright' with dejected eyes.

One hour later, Naruto got up and felt that his chakra was beginning to fill him up; albeit slowly so he decided to train more taijutsu. So, he initiated the katas as he beat up all the imaginary opponents in the air. Meanwhile, Kakashi was watching intently and also managing to see some nice punches going on down there, before seeing Naruto alternating between punches and kicks. Seeing the blond training hard sent an unknown wave of pride to Kakashi that never before happened. When he trained Sasuke for a whole month, not one did the Uchiha caused that to Kakashi, but Naruto, in less than a day, made Kakashi realized how deeply he messed up with the team. Suddenly, someone instantly appeared behind Kakashi, but he knew it wasn't Jiraya since his visible eye caught sight of green. "Good afternoon my fellow rival; how about we took advantage of this beautiful day and test our abilities to the extreme, yosh" – Screamed Gai, before Kakashi placed his hand on Gai's mouth in time for Naruto to just look up, since he thought he heard someone screaming.

After Kakashi signaled for Gai to be quiet, he looked down and saw that Naruto waved it off and returned to his taijutsu training. Maito Gai turned to see what his rival was observing only to smile and give his thumbs up to Kakashi. "Oi Kakashi, Naruto sure is filled with the fire of youth, he and student Lee are the same" – Smiled Gai as he saw Naruto's punches and kicks connect to the log repeatedly. Kakashi for his part thought about teasing the green jounin, but he couldn't fault but agree with his old friend. So, unlike any other precedent, Kakashi smiled and nodded. The green beast was astonished with the normal reply and wondered what was wrong with his once hip rival. However, before he could answer, Kakashi filled in the blanks. "Naruto has a kin sense of never giving up and he will use that to become stronger. He doesn't need me as his sensei for that" – Mumbled Kakashi.

Gai, for his part, understood what happened. He heard about what happened from his student Neji and thought about how unyouthful the Uchiha was for trying to kill his teammate with the technique Kakashi taught him. "Did he learn that stance all by himself Kakashi?" – Asked Gai, clearly concerned for his rival's supposed lack of teaching skills. However, to his relieve, Kakashi nodded his head in the negative and explained that he selected some books for Naruto to read while he was recuperating in the hospital, but Kakashi already knew where his rival wanted to go. "I know what you're trying to do Gai and I thank you for that, but all I ever did was show him the books to read, he was the one who draw the conclusions and you can see now how good he is on his own" - Whispered Kakashi to which Gai nodded and looked at Naruto once again who in turn was using both his fists to pound the log mercilessly and he remembered his student Lee doing the exact same thing.

"You know what Kakashi; I think you should go there and train him. He'll be with Jiraya for a long time and maybe, you can at least help him with one technique. Well, I'm off to run some laps around Konoha, Yosh" – Screamed Gai before vanishing and leaving Kakashi alone to watch Naruto. He thought about what Gai said and wondered if really Naruto would be resentful to him now wanting to be a sensei to him. It's not that Naruto ever showed resentment at the jounin, so what was he thinking that the blond would blame him. Sighing in dismay, Kakashi vanished a few meters away, so that he could approach the blond, by walking casually.

* * *

**===In Tsunade's office===**

After trying to search for a little while, Jiraya was called by Tsunade and now both of them began talking. The pervert explained about what he would be training Naruto in and how he would be power up his spirit and resolve enough to combat the kyuubi within his stomach. Tsunade nodded, but still was reluctant to let the blond go. She didn't see the need to leave the village for training all that much but Jiraya was insistent saying that the Akatsuki would come for him when he's vulnerable, hence why they need to stay on constant move. Tsunade also expressed her concerns about the blond being too far behind his peers in terms of rank and that maybe, he could go after the next chunnin exams.

"Tsunade, that kid has potential to come back as jounin level, you know that. With his chakra potential and a few powerful techniques, there is no way he wouldn't be able to do the chunnin exams once we come back. He is already fixing some minor issues that need to be fixed; it's just a matter of time until we'll begin elemental manipulation. I can tell you, for sure; that he is going to become as good as his father was, if not better. He learned the rasengan in only a month, that's got to be saying something" – Explained Jiraya to which Tsunade sighed and zipped some tea. "Ok, he can go. But if I hear that you neglected him training for doing perverted activities, I'll make sure to beat you all the way to Iwa, do you understand" – Threatened Tsunade, earning a nod a gulp from the pervert. "Now, you're not going to search for him?" – Asked the hokage, looking at some scrolls, before seeing the pervert shrugging his shoulders, saying that when the blond was ready, he would appear to him, earning a nod from Tsunade.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Back with Naruto, he was just finishing beating the log mercilessly when he heard steps coming his way. He didn't want it to be Jiraya since he wanted to finish the three techniques before leaving, but it was already night time and still one was left. The sound of the steps was increasing, until the figure finally revealed himself as Kakashi smiling. "Hey Naruto, what are you up to?" – Asked the silver haired jounin. Naruto for his part smiled at seeing the man and said that he was practicing the taijutsu and three jutsus he learned from the book. The moon was already up the sky and Kakashi was just watching Naruto pummel the log once more, until he came to a halt and looked to his beated hands. He already had the chakra necessary to attempt the last jutsu, so he stopped and summoned one shadow clone, before Kakashi stopped him.

"Naruto, I think I know what technique you're trying to do, but with the clone so close, you could get caught in the explosion, send him a couple steps further and pump as much chakra as you can in one go, that's the secret of the Daibakuha" – Taught Kakashi to which Naruto nodded and looked as the clone began walking a few steps before stopping and looking to the real one who in turn, focused on the ram seal and immediately molded as much chakra as possible in one go. The clone was suddenly enveloped in a big explosion, thus completing the technique. Of course, Naruto's explosion wasn't as big as Itachi was, but it would certainly cause damage to the enemy. Kakashi smiled upon seeing that Naruto already managed to master two of the jutsus that he set for the blond. Not to mention that the genin's taijutsu was now up to low chunnin level.

Looking back at Naruto, Kakashi saw that he was smiling, but the smile was different. This smile was a satisfied one, one that someone wears it upon being able to overcome an obstacle, after failing a few times before. Upon asking, though, Naruto said that for a long time, he thought he was doing fine as a shinobi, but now he saw that he was just being delusional about his abilities. "Listen Naruto, seeing as you'll be gone for a long time, how about I buy you some ramen" – Invited Kakashi, earning a nod from Naruto.

Some minutes later, teacher and student each took a sit at the ramen stand and placed their respective orders. As they waited, Kakashi asked about how it was to travel and train with the sannin. Naruto thought about it for a while, but in the end, he didn't have much to say, other than the fact that the man would only teach him one time and leave him to practice. Naruto told him about the three stages of the rasengan and how it was, initially, weird to practice with water balloons and rubber balls. "I just hope that this time, he won't be focusing so much on peeping at girls all the time" – Complained Naruto to which Kakashi smiled and nodded, before seeing their orders being placed in front of them. They ate the meal quietly while savoring the delicious noodles.

For a while, no one talked, no one opened their mouth to speak, only to eat. When that was finished, Kakashi extended his dish so that the old man Teuchi could pick up, before turning and addressing Naruto. "Naruto, I'd like to say I'm sorry to you" – Said Kakashi, coming forward with the subject earning a much surprised look from his student who in turn asked about what he was sorry about. "Ever since team 7 was formed, I didn't give the proper attention I should've done to the team, you specially. At the chunnin exams, I ended up training someone who didn't need help and left you under the care of Ebisu. At the hospital, when you asked me about your flaws, I felt ashamed, simply because as your jounin sensei, I shouldn't be the one listing them, but rather working with you towards correcting them. I know that I wasn't the best sensei and for that I seriously apologize" – Whispered Kakashi that last part, before Naruto began looking at his sensei wondering what this all about. Was this guilt? Was this guilt for the Uchiha doing what he did? Naruto didn't forget that Sasuke tried to kill him with the technique Kakashi taught him, so it was really guilt over what he did and Kakashi felt responsible for what happened.

"Sensei, you don't need to apologize. No one could've known that Sasuke would eventually flee for power. Also, about my so called flaws, what good is the sensei when the student doesn't understand what needs to be done? Those books you picked up for me helped understand what needed to be changed in my abilities and for that I thank you. Now, not only I improved my taijutsu, but also just added three jutsus to use out there, thanks to you, once more" – Explained Naruto, but Kakashi was still looking down, when suddenly, he remembered hearing Naruto saying that he added **three **jutsus. "Naruto, you were able to master the three jutsus?" – Asked Kakashi, incredulously, before Naruto nodded and finished up the last string of noodles. "How many can you multiple the shurikens?" – Asked Kakashi once again.

"I managed 10 clones the last time, though with more chakra, the numbers can double" – Explained Naruto, earning a nod from Kakashi and a thought that maybe, Naruto was a genius in hiding. Furthermore, Kakashi asked some more questions about the techniques and the taijutsu to which Naruto responded, before the blond said his goodbye since he was supposed to be packing his things for the trip tomorrow. Kakashi eyed the blond leaving and wondered how much better Naruto would be if Kakashi found out earlier about the blond's quick learning.

When he turned to walk away, he stopped for a while, before addressing the shadow to simply come out and talk to him. "Ah Kakashi, I didn't want to intrude in student/teacher conversation, but Tsunade-sama wants to talk to you immediately" – Said the shadow, before leaving.

Once Kakashi arrived, Tsunade asked about Naruto's whereabouts. Kakashi said that he went to his apartment after training the whole day. According to Kakashi, Naruto managed to improve his taijutsu form and also the three jutsus that the book contained, aside from the elemental ones. Jiraya was there as well, so you could imagine his surprise upon seeing that the blond was also training ninjutsu. After hearing Kakashi's statement, Tsunade nodded and took a scroll next to her. "Kakashi, tomorrow you'll part along with Genma and Raidou to a mission near Suna. The Kazekage asked for help in pursuing a missing-nin who managed to infiltrate the village, kill some of their ninjas and steal some important documents. Sabaku no Temari will be joining your group to arrest the man and retrieve the documents. Be ready to leave at 10am tomorrow" – Ordered Tsunade, earning a nod from Kakashi before vanishing.

* * *

**===Inside Naruto's place===**

After already packing everything that he needed for the trip, plus some extra money to purchase some new clothing, Naruto was now just taking one last look at his place, before going to sleep. As to his clothes, he remembered some people saying ill about his clothes choice because they didn't offer him the necessary stealth that a ninja must have. So, Naruto made a mental note that the second he spots a place that sells ninja clothing; he would enter the place and change everything. Upon lying on the bed, Naruto noticed the kunai he leaves right next to him, in case someone decides to break in and remembered that one last exercise was a due. The chakra control exercise was something he despised entirely. The tree walking one was, easily, the most unnerving one he ever had to do. After all, who in their sane consciousness, would want to fall on their head so many times? Of course, Naruto didn't need to fall on his head, simply because upon failing, he could simply flip his body and fall safely on his feet.

The water walking one was, also, a pain in the ass. Naruto remembered that he kept falling on that hot water so many times; he didn't know he was wet from the water or he was sweating from the heat. Now, this third one could shape to be just as troublesome as the two other, if not more. Maybe, Naruto would use more chakra and send the kunai flying directly at him.

Just as he took the kunai, he thought better and returned it to the proper place. His chakra system took a heavy blow today and he wanted nothing more than simply sleep for a while. It wasn't long until his mind started playing tricks on him, which meant that, just like every night he fell asleep, he was having a nightmare. Usually, it was just memories of people looking at him with disdain and anger, nothing that he couldn't handle in time, thus didn't bother his sleep. However, this one was different, or at least started out differently. He was inside a dark room, where inside he couldn't say a thing except for a bed that was illuminated. As he walked closer, he noticed that a boy closer to his age was there sleeping with his face looking up. Upon approaching, the person's identity was plainly visible to Naruto. The cursed seal on his neck was glowing with intensity, but instead of reaching Sasuke to see if he was alright, Naruto just stood there impassively. Suddenly, Orochimaru appeared next to Sasuke and extend two white snakes around Sasuke's body slowly, taking possession of his body.

Orochimaru stopped for a while and watched Naruto to see if he would do something to stop the snake-face, but Naruto just remained there stoically, watching as Orochimaru managed to complete his possession of the sharingan, before transforming into a monster and began his havoc and mayhem. Suddenly, in front of Naruto, appeared Sasuke once again looking at him, demanding answers about why Naruto let Orochimaru take over his body. The answer, though, was an easy one to make. "Clearly you didn't expect me to help you after you tried to kill me didn't you, traitor?" – Asked Naruto before seeing Sasuke's spirit leaving, while looking at the blond's eyes, without uttering a single word in response. After Sasuke was gone, Naruto turned to look at Orochimaru who in turn was looking at him while laughing evilly, before preparing a rasengan in his right hand and charged Orochimaru before slamming the rasengan right between his eyes.

The next scene was Naruto's room as he opened his eyes to administer what he just pictured inside his mind. He just saw Orochimaru completing his ambition before Naruto was able to land a rasengan between his eyes. What the dream mean? Of course, Naruto didn't care much for Sasuke, but he wouldn't let Orochimaru do what he intends to do, simply because he is an enemy of the village and therefore, cannot let him live. So, maybe the dream was what the future could entail in case Orochimaru manages to take possession of Sasuke's sharingan? Closing his eyes once more, he fell asleep with those thoughts in mind and only one conclusion. _He would protect the village even if it costs his life to do so_.

* * *

**===Day of Departure===**

After saying goodbye to his friends, he and Jiraya marched together towards the main gate, therefore beginning their adventure across the elemental countries. After the last step, Naruto stopped and turned to look at the Hokage Monument, especially at the Forth Hokage's head. "I'll come back stronger and protect the village just like you did…with your life…that's a promise" – Screamed Naruto to no one, until Jiraya screamed for him to hurry up or else he would leave without him.


	3. True Devotion

**Chapter 3 – True devotion**

A few hours after leaving the village, Jiraya and Naruto were found walking casually towards a small village in order to have some lunch and 'talk' for a while. Suffice to say, Jiraya wanted to talk with Naruto not only because he wanted to create a suitable schedule for the blond's training, but also in order to find out as much as possible about the eternal enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto. In their last trip, Jiraya was practically begging for Naruto to stop screaming from time to time, but now the blond didn't matter a single word since they left Konoha.

Naruto, for his part, chose the quiet time and began to wonder about things a little bit. He often wondered about his life and how it could turn up if he had the decency to apply himself on being a better ninja. Of course, he felt stronger and more capable now, but Naruto couldn't help but think about what would happen if he was better trained. Surely, he would do better in missions and maybe overcome the Uchiha in battle because of it. Naruto was not stupid enough to realize that he just learned three advanced jutsus in only a day; therefore it was safe to say he could be already proficient in fuuton ninjutsu by now. _I surely messed up with my training, no matter though, I'll have three years to make up for the lost time and hopefully become strong enough to be of aid to the village. _– Thought Naruto as he looked up only to see that they were approaching a small village.

"Naruto, why don't we stop here for some lunch, I bet you're hungry" – Offered Jiraya, earning a nod from Naruto who appreciated the offer and said that his feet was already hurting from that much walk. Jiraya couldn't help but laugh upon eyeing his new student's determination. Another aspect of Jiraya's concern was towards Naruto maybe becoming respectful for a change. He did insist for the blond to address him with respect; however a part of him wanted to be called 'Ero-sennin'. A few moments later, Naruto and Jiraya were having some sushi and Jiraya chose that moment to talk to the blond.

"Oi Naruto, as you know, we'll have three years to spend on your training and I expect that in the end of this three years, your level would be somewhat close to jounin" – Said Jiraya, earning a look in surprise from Naruto who thought he heard that Jiraya wanted him to be close to Kakashi's level upon returning. "That's right kid; you are already close to chunnin material and as I remembered carefully, you did beat that Neji kid, who was considered the genius of the Hyuuga clan and you saved Konoha from the one-tailed beast Shukaku. Now, stop interrupting me and let's get down to business" – Stated Jiraya to which Naruto rolled his eyes away, before eyeing the pervert once more.

"Based on the material I've gathered on your file, your taijutsu is now, after you left the hospital, more refined, so it is considered low level chunnin, however we'll sure improve this area. Genjutsu, I'm sorry to say your ability is practically none; however I'm sure that learning genjutsu wouldn't suit your fighting style, so we'll focus on learning to interpret the illusion and how to dispel them effectively. Chakra control won't be much of an issue here in our training, since you already completed the tree and water walking…." – Explained Jiraya, but Naruto stopped him for a second. "What about the kunai lifting exercise? I saw that this is the third level of chakra control" – Asked Naruto, earning a thinking pose from Jiraya.

The kunai lifting exercise, although completely useful, wasn't obligatory for a ninja to complete. This exercise was only completed by those of the Hyuuga clan in order to learn the jyuuken and for medical ninja to be able to learn their techniques. This exercise required a steady flow of chakra to be expelled from the ninja's hands, thus keeping the kunai hovering around. "Although it's nice to be able to Naruto, truth is, it isn't a necessary skill to have, especially for someone more suited for taijutsu and ninjutsu such as yourself. If you truly wish to learn, we'll leave it for the end of our training, also if you wish you could attempt on one of our free times. Moving on, ninjutsu and chakra capacity. The lather is rather easy to train since you only need to use a lot of chakra and then wait for your reserves to be fulfilled again; Now ninjutsu" – Said Jiraya, before seeing Naruto smile which in turn caused him to smile in return.

"As you know, ninjutsu are mostly divided between shape and element manipulation with a few exceptions that doesn't rely on them. You already is proficient in shape manipulation from the **rasengan** and the **Gyorai Shin no Jutsu** (Torpedo Needles Jutsu), however we are still due to perfect your rasengan. Also, we'll be focusing on your fuuton element, I happen to know the formula necessary to be able to use fuuton chakra and also some techniques that will be easy to teach. I happen to have a friend in Suna that happens to be a jounin, he will teach you two to three advanced fuuton techniques, but the rest will be up to you" – Explained Jiraya. "Also, it will be up to you to figure out our schedule, he he he. You'll have to come up with a suitable time table that will incorporate all of the subjects we talked so far"

After hearing that, Naruto was rather angry to say the least. Jiraya was supposed to be the teacher and yet he was stuck with fixing the training schedule, it was ridiculous. Jiraya explained that such abilities are vital in the ninja world and would help Naruto greatly while going on more advanced missions or even leading a team. After paying for the meal, Jiraya left Naruto at the local library in order to think of the schedule, while he would do some researching. Naruto didn't complain, but he knew of the damn pervert's reasons for leaving and wondered if the damn pervert would do this more often in the future

Looking at the blank page for a moment, Naruto decided to settle down everything he needed to place at the schedule and listed down. After finishing it, he proceeded to think. The old Naruto would settle for three whole years of bad ass ninjutsu and cool moves, but now after what he saw in those books, the blond realized that he needed to pay attention to his other skills. Three years and three abilities to focus on: taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. Also, ninjutsu would be divided into three phases: using the rasengan with one hand; learning fuuton chakra and learning fuuton techniques.

Taijutsu and genjutsu didn't need a full year, Naruto wondered. Of course, he could learn more advanced stances in probably six months and then do some occasional spars with Jiraya. Also genjutsu disrupting wouldn't require much time to learn, so maybe he could assert both taijutsu and genjutsu within a full year of training. _Well, I guess we could focus on these two arts as well as doing some chakra control exercises. _– Thought Naruto as he began scribbling on the paper, the following.

_First year – Six months of taijutsu and chakra control exercises (extended periods of running on top of water and maybe even doing occasional spars to increase the pace)…._

Naruto really wanted to learn some new ninjutsu, but then the ones he already knew could need some time mastering it. The **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shuriken Shadow Clone) was one of them and Naruto always wanted to see a suitable number of shuriken clones to be created for the technique to be effective. Also, the **Gyorai Shin no Jutsu **(Torpedo Needles Jutsu) could need some work refining its shape and also increasing the number of needles, so he could use the first year perfecting them on his spare time from training. The **Bunshin Daibakuha **(Clone Explosion) only needed more chakra burst, so Naruto didn't need to train that. Scribbling this information, Naruto now initiated the second year schedule.

Since he would have practically done with taijutsu and genjutsu, he could focus two years with ninjutsu. Sometime in the past, he heard someone telling that he was a ninjutsu type of ninja, because of his unlimited chakra capacity. So, with the proper control and the advanced techniques, he was sure to learn, Naruto was practically drooling in anticipation. Nevertheless, he needed, before learning any other jutsu, to use the rasengan in one hand, so he settled for three months exclusively for the rasengan. After that, Jiraya would be teaching him how to have access to fuuton chakra. However, Naruto was clueless as to how much time it would be required to do this. The part of the book didn't say much about it, so he settled for taking the rest of the year for such a feat. After all, in case he manages to learn before the end of the second year, maybe he could focus on other abilities. Looking at the paper, he turned to scribble once more:

_Second year – (three first months) Rasengan training in order to be able to create it single-handedly (without the clone's assistance) and nine months of fuuton chakra manifestation training (in case I manage to do it in lesser time, we can focus on learning one or two fuuton techniques and spar on top of the water, using both taijutsu and ninjutsu (Objective: Fighting experience and mastery of jutsus in the heat of battle)…_

Of course, the third year would be focused on fuuton techniques that Naruto would be learning from both Jiraya and a man in Suna. So, he scribbled the last year and turned to read it once more in order to see if he didn't miss anything. Naruto was actually satisfied with his schedule. Truth be told, the schedule was a good idea, since it would keep not only him in place but also for his perverted sensei. Leaving the paper on top of the table for a moment, Naruto began to look around a bit. This wasn't a shinobi library; hence why he couldn't pick anything that would interest him.

However, they did have some adventure books to read and Naruto knew he would have to wait a while for Jiraya to arrive. Upon arriving at the respective section, he glanced at the titles and was surprised to see that some of the books involved the shinobi world, even if all of them are fiction. He took a few ranging from Kiri Shinobi's war against pirates to an adventure between two powerful warriors in Iwa battling for the Tsushikage position. After picking them, he went to the table he was seating earlier and placed the books on top of the table. Picking the first book which was actually the one that described Kiri's war against the pirate organization, he opened and started reading.

**

* * *

****===With Jiraya===**

After leaving Naruto alone at the library, Jiraya decided to run into an old friend of his that happened to leave at the village. Actually, the reason Jiraya stopped by was because this man contacted him a while ago because of some sensitive information about Suna. Jiraya had informants up there, but couldn't just dismiss information like that, especially because this man wasn't limited to sensitive information and could easily tell more. After a while of walking, he reached a normal two story white house and knocked on the door.

It took some minutes before the door opened, although just a little for the man inside to see who was knocking. "You appear like him, but how do I know you're really him?" – Asked the shadow, earning a snort from the perv. Really must every informant of his ask that question? True, it was shinobi protocol to be certain of the one in front of him, before opening his mouth. Before one became his informant, Jiraya would say a secret password that only he could know. "Orochimaru is a pedophile" – Muttered Jiraya, earning a nod from the man before he fully opened and greeted the white haired sannin. Clearly, Orochimaru has been given many names and curses, but only Jiraya would call him like that.

"Seriously, I'd think I earned your trust enough so that you shouldn't feel the need to have a double check" – Said Jiraya, earning a snicker from the man. "Well, one couldn't help but keep a few vices, besides it's better to be assured than be stabbed in the back, come in" – Gestured the man to which Jiraya muttered something unyouthful and then entered the house. The inner walls were rather simple, but what could anyone expect from a ninja's retirement home. Nakato Shinji was really an ordinary shinobi. Retiring early because of losing one of his arms while on a mission, he decided to leave the village and settle down in a village where he wouldn't hear the word ninja. However, just as the man said, Shinji became addicted to some of the vices that were exclusive for shinobi, hence why he agreed to be Jiraya's informant.

"So, I believe you have something to tell me, so let's hear it" – Said Jiraya, earning a nod from Shinji who began. "I have news of Suna. Apparently, they took Orochimaru's betrayal pretty heavily and are now restructuring everything. I heard from a Suna ninja that they have plans of formulating a mutual agreement with Konoha in order to exchange knowledge regarding genin training and the academy of shinobi wannabes. Also, there is a rumor of a nomination for the Godaime Kazekage, although he couldn't confirm me the nominee's identity" – Explained Shinji, earning a nod in appreciation from the sannin.

Although it wasn't urgent news, Jiraya was famous for knowing pretty much everything about everything. He knew of Suna's growing interest in allying once again with Konoha for the famous 'mutual benefits'. The news of the new kazekage, though, was unexpected since because of the Yondaime Kazekage's death, the council took over everything until a next suitable shinobi becomes nominated for the Godaime Kazekage. Jiraya thanked the man for the information and gladly accepted some tea that Shinji, just now, made.

Some occasional talk was exchanged between the two and when Jiraya looked at the time, he realized he abandoned Naruto at the library for close to three hours now. He explained to Shinji that he was in a hurry to meet someone and appreciated the hospitality. After leaving the house, he took a few minutes to arrive at the library, already wondering how much of a headache he will have from hearing Naruto screaming at him for abandonment. What he never expected, though, was to see Naruto, instead of either falling asleep or bitching to someone about late senseis, the blond was there seated at the table reading a book and Jiraya could see three other books on top of the table as well. _I don't know if I should be relieved that he won't scream at me or worried of seeing Uzumaki Naruto, the most hyperactive ninja of Konoha and jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, expending pretty much half a day at the library. _– Thought Jiraya as he took the paper and turned to read it.

_**First year**__ – Six months of taijutsu and chakra control exercises (extended periods of running on top of water and maybe even doing occasional spars to increase the pace). Mastery of two ninjustus learned before leaving, which are the following: Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and, Gyorai Shin no Jutsu and the rest of the year will be spent on genjutsu understanding plus how to disrupt the illusion. _

_**Second year**__ – (three first months) Rasengan training in order to be able to create it single-handedly (without the clone's assistance) and nine months of fuuton chakra manifestation training (in case I manage to do it in lesser time, we can focus on learning one or two fuuton techniques and spar on top of the water, using both taijutsu and ninjutsu (Objective: Fighting experience and mastery of jutsus in the heat of battle. _

_**Third Year**__ – Mainly fuuton ninjutsu training with Jiraya and a ninja from Suna, followed by full-out spar involving nin, tai and genjutsu three times a week, until the last two months which will be used for eventual exercises that I couldn't master in time. _

Jiraya couldn't help but smile upon reading it. There were some points missing, however he was still due to tell Naruto that on time, he would be set up against other opponents in order to have some battle experience. Still, the schedule layout worked fine and Jiraya found that the time given for all of them were spot on. Naruto for his part finished his book and looked at the pervert displaying a large smile on his face. "I suppose that since you're smiling is because you approved my schedule?" – Asked Naruto, before earning a nod from his now sensei.

"Indeed. I first thought you'd put three whole years of ninjutsu, but then I guess you are now a changed shinobi. The schedule is great and we can begin right away. Since the sun is still up, we'll use it to test yours skills so far. We'll find a clearance for us to have a spar so I can gauge what you need correcting, let's go" – Said Jiraya to which Naruto nodded, before getting off the chair and following the pervert. It was only when they left the library, that Naruto remembered something. "What took you so long Ero-sensei?" – Asked Naruto, earning a sigh in dismay from the change in names. _Well at least he placed the word sensei in it. _"I went to find a friend of mine who contacted me for some information." – Stated Jiraya.

**

* * *

****===A few miles away from the village===**

Once out of the village, Jiraya and Naruto found a clearing before they sealed their belongings inside a scroll by Jiraya. After all, it wouldn't do well for them to leave it next to a tree and have it stolen in the midst of a fight. "Alright Naruto, come at me with everything you got, but mind you I'm not just standing here waiting for the attack, so be prepared" – Said Jiraya, before already beginning a set of hand seals before whispering **Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu **(Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu). Instantly, from a lagoon nearby, the dragon suddenly emerged and attacked Naruto, who was frightened to death upon hearing the dragon roaring.

The blond realized, though, that he had to face the danger and used some chakra to jump at the last minute, thus evading the technique. He charged Jiraya once again adding chakra to his feet for an upgrade in speed, before reaching and aiming the man's chest. Jiraya used his hand to block Naruto's kick and used the other arm to punch the blond's ribs, but barely missed, since Naruto bended his body a little bit. After falling, Naruto did some back flips and jumped a little higher, before taking some shurikens and throwing at Jiraya before making hand seals for **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Shuriken Shadow Clone). Jiraya was impressed upon seeing the four shurikens become forty and made some hand seals of his own. "**Doton Doryuuheki **(Earth Release: Mud Wall Jutsu).

Still in the air, Naruto saw the wall being formed and saw all the shurikens being blocked, before cursing at the man's elemental jutsus. Charging once again, Naruto went up the earth wall, using chakra since he couldn't see where Jiraya was. Inside the protection, Jiraya smiled at the blond's insight. The earth wall technique had a weakness of blocking the user's sight, thus Jiraya couldn't see the blond, but he heard the sound of steps so he just connected the dots. Looking up, he saw as Naruto jumped the wall and made some hand seals before chakra spikes appeared around him. With Naruto's shift of seals, the needles charged forward and pierced Jiraya like a pin cushion. Naruto actually believed he accidentally killed the pervert when he saw said man to his right, aiming a kick at his side stomach, thus sending the blond flying.

Using the momentum, Naruto made a spin and landed safely on the ground, before he eyed Jiraya for a while. The pervert for his part jumped and landed right in front of Naruto while looking at him. "Very good Naruto, your ninjutsu was surely flawless; although in the midst of battle, you'd need to increase the speed in which you make the hand seals, however that will come with experience, your taijutsu, although good, needs some correction in terms of defensive katas. At some point there, you left your guard open and that is unacceptable. Overall, though, you did pretty good" – Said Jiraya, earning a 'thanks' in appreciation from the blond.

After a while, the two were already marching towards the next village in order to get some sleep. On the way, though, Naruto was picturing his fight and smiled. Of course, Jiraya was fighting with at least five percent of his abilities, but that was considered high genin level, so if Naruto was on pair with the sannin using five percent, than perhaps Jiraya was right about him being low chunnin level. Still Naruto couldn't help but remember the pervert using both suiton and doton and wondered about each ninja's affinity. "Ero-sensei, how come you were able to use more than one element? I thought each ninja had one affinity" – Asked Naruto, earning a smile from Jiraya.

"It's true that the majority of ninja has only one affinity; however there are exceptions out there that have two. However, that does not mean you couldn't learn jutsus from other elements, the tricky part is that would be more difficult and more chakra demanding than the element you're aligned with. For example, I have a doton affinity, but I also can use suiton, katon and a couple fuuton techniques" – Explained Jiraya, earning a nod in surprise from Naruto. "However, since your schedule is done, we'll focus on taijutsu and genjutsu this year, plus some occasional spars with either myself or others".

As Jiraya talked, Naruto looked at him explaining and felt something different from the pervert. It certainly was different from the Jiraya he travelled to find Tsunade. Speaking the truth, Jiraya was feeling rather nostalgic about teaching another blond in the past and he couldn't help but look at the sky and speak to the clouds to his deceased student. _Minato, Naruto truly is your son. _

**

* * *

****===Tanzaku Gai===**

After another hour of casual travel, Naruto and Jiraya arrived at Tanzaku Gai, before quickly renting a room for two days. On the way, Jiraya explained that they wouldn't be more than a week in one place even if nobody would be around to see them. The reason behind this was to avoid unwanted attention and alerting Akatsuki of their presence. After all, one of the objectives of this training period is to avoid bumping into one of their members while on a random mission.

After that, Jiraya said for Naruto that he would be meeting another friend, before giving his giddy smile, showing to the blond that he would be peeping around the place for a while. Sighing in dismay, Naruto said that he would wonder around town for a while and maybe have some dinner. Jiraya wondered for a moment, before shrugging it off and left the hotel as well. Since Naruto left his hitai-ate inside the room, there wasn't much worry in him walking around for a while. After all, simply waiting inside the room wouldn't please anyone.

The sun was just setting and the village nights were beginning to appear. In minutes, the entire village was surrounded by festival lights, since the whole city was one. Millions of merchants would come here wit the opportunity of sealing their products to the population. As Naruto wandered around, he could see many little stores going from restaurants to shinobi games. However, Naruto was actually looking for a place that sells ninja clothing; however that could wait, after all. His stomach pretty much begged him to have something to eat, so he went to a ramen stand and asked for three bowls of miso ramen.

While nothing compared to Ichiraku's, this one was rather good, Naruto thought. He appreciated the food and then paid for it, before leaving and searching around town for a while. It wouldn't be possible for this village not to have a shinobi store, however Naruto was wandering for a while and was practically giving up the search and return to the hotel when he spotted what he was looking for. Once inside, Naruto blinked several times and then blinked once more. The store was huge in every sense of the way. The reason for Naruto's surprise was that it didn't look his bid from the outside.

Looking around, he saw a bunch of cool stuff like weapons, sealing scrolls, survival kits; everything a ninja wanted, he could get in here. Eventually, he found the clothes section and quickly began to look at the samples. He was searching for something neutral, although more for the dark side. Obviously, he would get some dark paints and maybe something with a few pockets for him to store. Once the pants were chosen, Naruto went for the shirts. He remembered thinking about buying neutral colors like gray or even a much darker shade of the color. Searching for a while, he found what he was searching for; a dark grey shirt with no drawings or engravings of any kind, being perfect for his idea. Upon selecting other dark colors such as dark green and a brown one, he went to the counter and asked for three pairs of the paints he selected and if possible, engrave the shirts with the whirlpool symbol on his back, although now, instead of orange (or red I don't remember) Naruto wanted it all black.

The attendant smiled at him and told him to wait while she would go to the back and start with the order. Meanwhile, Naruto decided to take a look at the sword's weapons. He wasn't look forward to studying kenjutsu anytime soon, but the swords in display were nothing short of amazing. There were some of them who had engravings added to the hilt and Naruto's creative mind was already picturing his engraved with the whirlpool symbol. For some reason, though, Naruto felt attached to that symbol, although it wasn't Konoha's symbol per se. After a while, the woman arrived with Naruto's orders and gave him the price for the whole thing. Grabbing the money he separated, he turned to look at some gloves that happened to possess metallic knuckles. Needless to say, he bought them as well.

After appreciating for the service, Naruto left the shop towards the hotel.

**

* * *

****===The next day===**

After doing his routine, Naruto was already outside the village wandering around for Jiraya who in turn was still due to show his face. Looking around, Naruto suddenly was feeling a little bit unnerved by so many people staring at him. The stare itself didn't bother him, since he was used to it back at his home village. The problem, now, was that the people who stared at him were composed of only women and girls and the look of their face was similar to the looks that the damn traitor received back in Konoha.

Suddenly it clicked on him. Naruto decided to wear his new clothes today and while he thought he looked good on the mirror, he clearly didn't expect to attract this sort of attention. Wandering around some more, until he saw the sannin sitting on the ground, near what seemed to be an abandoned house and sighed in dismay. _Damn, we're only started this trip and the damn pervert already passed out drunk._ – Thought Naruto as he approached Jiraya for a while. Oh the ideas he had for a good prank. Naruto's prankster side, often times, took over his will.

Summoning close to ten kage bunshins, all of them gathered air in their lungs before screaming: **WAKE UP ERO-SENSEI**.

Jiraya jumped nearly in instinct and when he noticed where he was, he could already see the entire village under him, before he fell at the same place he was before. Scratching his head for a while, Jiraya looked around while feeling his head pounding like crazy. It wasn't enough for him to feel a hangover, now Naruto screaming at his ear would forever plague his mind as the worst headache ever. As he opened his eyes, his vision was somewhat blurry and he was seeing a blurry vision of a blond in black paints and grey shirt looking at him. _Wow, I must be seeing things; I swear I just saw Minato looking at me with those same angry eyes. __Damn you Naruto, you look so much like your parents, it's kind of scary. _

"Oi why the hell did you do that for brat? I was trying to sleep here" – Shouted Jiraya to which Naruto rolled his eyes and looked at the messed state of the man in front of him. "You are the one to blame for this Ero-sensei. You ask for respect and yet you sit in the middle of the street, completely drunk" – Muttered Naruto, earning a snore in complaint, but Jiraya stopped the discussion from fear of his head exploding. _I really need to stop drinking so much _– Thought Jiraya as he walked towards a bakery and asked for some bread and water to ease the headache.

After that, he looked at the blond and now realized that his clothes were different now. "Interesting choice in clothes you got there Naruto; it fits you actually" – Said Jiraya, actually meaning that he was glad that he didn't have to force the blond to lose the orange clothing. Upon looking at the back of the shirt, Jiraya was surprised to see a black whirlpool symbol attached to the fabric, instead of the usual one that is located behind his orange jacket. "Also, now we can train your stealth abilities, since we don't have to worry about you being discovered in the middle of the forest because of your orange clothing. What did you do with it anyway?" – Asked Jiraya to which Naruto answered that he simply threw it away and then turned his back to Jiraya, not really wanting to deal with Jiraya in this stage right now. Jiraya for his part rose from the ground and looked at the blond in front of him. "Ero-sensei, since you'll be recovering in the hotel, can I go train a little bit?" – Asked Naruto, earning a surprised look from Jiraya who in turn wondered why the sudden rush in getting stronger.

"Naruto, we have three years ahead of us to do that. We should consider resting a bit…" – Said Jiraya, but stopped when Naruto turned his head and looked at Jiraya with eyes that astonished the sannin. Jiraya could see the pure eye of determination, eye of devotion towards an objective, whatever it was. "I have to become stronger in order to protect Konoha and for that, resting will come last" – Stated Naruto, earning a sigh in dismay from Jiraya who was imagining three years of constant movement and training regimes. Jiraya woke from his wonderings when he saw Naruto began walking away from him, before he called for him to halt and wanted to talk to him.

Naruto stopped and looked at Jiraya who stopped running and landed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, I know you want to protect the village and those you care for and believe me when I say you'll become a great shinobi. I'll be recovering a bit at the hotel, but I'll set you up with a couple of stamina exercises mixed with taijutsu practice, that will put you up to test. Extend your arms for me, if you may" – Said Jiraya, before Naruto did as instructed. Focusing some chakra on his fingers, Jiraya began to draw two seals one in each of Naruto's arms, before closing his eyes and focusing on activating it. "Ready to go, these seals are called restriction seals and what they do is make it heavier for you to move at will. For the remaining of the month, you will become adjusted to it as we practice these stamina exercises. Now, a complete lap around Tanzaku Gai takes about half an hour, mostly. So, begin with five laps around the village, then practice your taijutsu until I arrive, understood" – Explained Jiraya, before Naruto nodded eagerly to begin, before running towards the village exit.

However, he found out how the seal operated and It was tough to say the least. But he went nonetheless and Jiraya smirked at the sight of Minato's training. _Wait, no…this is Naruto, not his father. I got to sleep a little bit…and definitely cannot call him Minato. Oh my friend, your son looks so much like you it's really scary sometimes. _

Back to Naruto, he was already on his way towards the fist lap around the village while wondering about the effects of the seal located in both his arms. He could already imagine how much these exercises could improve not only his body mass, but also the strength behind his taijutsu attacks. Not only that, but while adjusting to the restriction of the seal, Naruto could also improve his speed. _Ero-sensei is a genius. _


	4. rasengan Training

**

* * *

****Chapter 4 – Rasengan Training**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

It had been two weeks since that day Naruto was introduced to the restriction seals and his physical skills greatly improved. He and Jiraiya was found heading towards River Country in hopes of training below a waterfall. Jiraiya instructed Naruto that learning how to meditate can increase the ninja's perception of things both outside and inside his body. For instance, by meditating, Naruto could have more access to his chakra and learn how to ease his chakra flow inside his chakra coils. Back to Naruto's physical skills, he was able to gain some muscles from constantly using them to be able to move. Naruto learned by pure experience how the restriction seal worked. As Naruto walked, the air would reach the seal and it would increase the air force around the blonde's body, thus making it harder to move his limbs. At the time, Naruto compared it like trying to move in the water, which Jiraiya couldn't agree more to.

The restriction seal was created by the Yondaime Hokage in response to the gravity seal that was called a Kinjutsu because of the damage it did to the human body. This new one acted more directly towards a ninja's training and, unlike the gravity seal, it didn't over-strain the muscles and organs. Some minutes later, the two of them saw the many number of waterfalls that made River Country famous.

"Naruto, there are a lot of inns here in River Country so we'll just settle in and proceed with what I intended for you." – Said Jiraiya earning a nod from Naruto who in turn, extended his hand, before focusing chakra on rotation. The energy began to gather around his hand, but dissipated seconds afterwards. Even if the Rasengan training was only due to happen the next year, Naruto decided to give it a shot while on their travels around the elemental nations. Jiraiya saw it and smiled at the blonde's better attempt this time. Since he began to try the Rasengan single-handedly, Naruto has improved a lot. The first time, he couldn't even begin the energy rotation. Now, that part was already through and now Naruto needed to maintain the rotation steady, before beginning to focus on the power.

"In time, you'll manage the Rasengan Naruto. Now, we'll settle inside an inn and head straight for the nearest waterfall" – Said Jiraiya as Naruto nodded before both settled inside for a while. This place would serve as training place for both Taijutsu and increasing Naruto's chakra control seeing as they would both practice Taijutsu on top of the lake.

"Ero-sensei, do you have any non-elemental jutsus that you could teach me?" – Asked Naruto which make Jiraiya think for a while.

"There is one defensive jutsu I invented but for I'm afraid you won't be able to do this one. The technique is called **Ninpou Hari Jizou **(Ninja art: Underworld Guardian Spikes) and is a defensive jutsu and consists of focusing chakra through your hair and to sharp its edges before covering your whole body with it. In a Taijutsu match, once you do this, if the opponent is stupid enough to hit you, will be stabbed because of the hair spikes. However, I'm able to do this because my hair is long enough, while yours is not." – Explained Jiraiya earning a nod from Naruto who then proceeded to find a way out of this predicament.

"If I were to focus more chakra than the technique normally requires then maybe I wouldn't need to grow my hair? What are the hand signals needed for it?" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraiya smiled and showed him the technique or at least which hand seals were needed. When Naruto attempted his hair immediately became more sharpened but instead of covering the whole body, Naruto's hair only managed to cover his head and his chest before dissipating the technique. Jiraiya was impressed nonetheless. On his first attempt, the blond already managed to sharpen the hair enough to create needles and with enough practice and more chakra, Naruto would be able to do the technique without having the need to grow his hair. This technique though, had a slight outcome of growing the hair at an accelerated pace. Upon voicing it to Naruto just shrugged it off saying that he would worry about it later on.

After a while the two settled inside the inn and then went to the nearest waterfall. Once there both immediately jumped and began battling each other in mid air, before landing on the water. Practicing Taijutsu on the water was good for two reasons. First of all, it would be a great help to increase chakra control because Naruto would have to focus on maintaining the chakra flow below his feet while fighting against Jiraiya and the second reason is Taijutsu experience. After watching each other for a while, Naruto channeled chakra to his legs and charged Jiraiya with a roundhouse kick to which Jiraiya used his arms to block it and then aimed a straight punch to Naruto's chest.

Seeing the move, Naruto flipped his body while in mid-air and grabbed Jiraiya's arm before pushing it away from the direction of this chest. After landing once again on the water, Naruto charged once more this time with a series of punches. As Jiraiya was blocking them, he smiled seeing that not only his speed between movements increased but also the fact that Naruto was landing some heavy blows. In enough time, the pervert wouldn't need to worry about holding back in a straight Taijutsu fight and that was saying something. Jiraiya flipped his body for a reverse kick straight to Naruto's face but the blond did a back-flip and evaded the attack before aiming for a low kick straight to Jiraiya's legs. Jumping, Jiraiya thought to test the gaki's evasive techniques by making some hand seals for **Katon Housenka no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Jutsu).

Instantly, Jiraiya expelled consecutive two feet fireballs at Naruto who in turn cursed his sensei for using Ninjutsu before focusing chakra in his feet and started running. The fireballs were hitting the water inches from Naruto's position so the pace would have to be increased. Managing to steadily dodge the incoming fireballs, Naruto had to think of something to turn the odds. Looking at Jiraiya, he managed to see a log that was floating behind him, giving him the perfect tactic to get Jiraiya. Upon seeing the last fireball, he ran straight to it not bothering to hear Jiraiya's protest of stupidity. The fireball engulfed him completely, until Naruto was suddenly replaced by a log. The pervert was dead silent and wondering what was going on until he turned around only to see Naruto's foot landing a straight kick on his face, thus sending him down.

Looking at the blond, Jiraiya couldn't help but applaud the blond for the deceiving tactic. Even in the middle of a tight situation, the blond had managed to calm down and think of a way through it.

"Congrats Naruto, although don't ever do such a crazy maneuver like that, unless you're absolutely sure you'll be able to complete it. Remember, I've seen ninjas dying because they attempted something new in the midst of battle. Remember always to use the skills you're most experienced with and you'll have a higher chance of winning the battle. Now, proceed with some Taijutsu against your clones and then we'll begin our meditation exercise." – Explained Jiraiya earning a nod from Naruto before he summoned four clones and began to practice some fighting.

This time, Jiraiya was already at the shore of the river, just watching the blond as he fought with a grace particular to a Chuunin against his clones. Since they began the training two weeks ago, Naruto trained non-stop to acquire this form of Taijutsu. Upon looking at his arms, Jiraiya began to feel the pain of Naruto's punches as his arms were a little numb. _That glove of his is really magnificent. Not only does he more damage with his punches, but they are also enabling the user to focus some chakra in it, thus powering up the blows. Imagine when he learns how to use Fuuton chakra and channel it through his gloves. He could invent a new Taijutsu style called wind fist or hurricane fist. Shippuken (hurricane fist) has a nice ring to it; maybe I can talk to him about it when we begin Fuuton training?_– Thought Jiraiya.

The pervert was having a weird sensation. He remembered being this insightful over someone else's training only when he trained the Yondaime Hokage. At the time, Minato's growth was so astounding that Jiraiya was beginning to think of ways to improve even further. Now, with Naruto it was the same and Jiraiya couldn't help but connect the similarities between father and son as he saw Naruto battling against the Kage Bunshins. Suddenly, the teacher part resurfaced as he saw Naruto committing a minor flaw.

"Naruto…keep your arms up and don't let yourself open while attacking; you'd be vulnerable to the enemy otherwise!" – Shouted Jiraiya before hearing a scream in agreement from the blond and positioned his arms better in order to not let his guard open.

Now feeling content with Naruto's form Jiraiya just stood to watch as Naruto jumped real high and threw one shuriken against the clones before beginning a fast series of hand seals for **Ninpou Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **(Ninja art: Shuriken Shadow Clone). Immediately, the lonely shuriken was suddenly quadrupled and pierced through all the remaining clones thus dispelling them all at once before the real one landed on top of the water while holding his head from a sudden headache. This happened every time he battled against clones. Every time when a clone is dispelled, Naruto immediately received images on his mind as if the clone's memory was actually his. He couldn't understand why this thing happens. Jiraiya, for his part, smiled acknowledging the blonde's discovery as he walked casually towards the wondering blond.

"It seems you discovered the secret behind the Kage Bunshin?" – Said Jiraiya as he stopped in front of the blond who in turn looked at him startled.

"What secret? What are you talking about Ero-sensei?" – Asked Naruto while massaging his temples a bit in order to ease the pain.

"After a Kage Bunshin is dispelled, everything he saw, heard or read is sent straight to the real one. This technique is originally intended to be used for infiltration purposes alone. By sending a Kage Bunshin inside a castle, for example, the clone could see where the traps and guards are; before dispelling and sending the information to the real one. I bet that after you dispelled the clones, you received images from the clone's point of view, am I right?" – Asked Jiraiya before seeing Naruto nod and Jiraiya continued. "This is a good bonus for you Naruto. Because of your chakra capacity, we could use the clone's abilities to decrease the time needed for us to train something, like for instance, the Rasengan and the Hari Jizou technique" – Explained Jiraiya, waiting for the information to sink in before he saw Naruto's smile almost reaching the boy's ears.

Deciding to contain the boy's enthusiasm, Jiraiya asked the blond if he wanted some lunch to which Naruto eagerly accepted as he was hungry as hell, earning laughter from Jiraiya and together they turned back to the Inn in search for some food. On the way back, Naruto summoned two Kage Bunshins and all three of them attempted the second part of the Rasengan. Upon seeing this, Jiraiya smiled upon seeing that the blond already grasped the meaning behind the Kage Bunshin training.

* * *

**===Inside the restaurant===**

Once back at the inn the two went to the place's restaurant that happened to be a sushi restaurant. Hearing this, the blond asked if there was any ramen before being slapped on the head by Jiraiya who instructed Naruto to eat more healthy food in order to grow stronger and be better prepared to defend the village. Upon hearing this Naruto couldn't help but nod and decided to try this sushi. As they sat at the table and placed their orders, Jiraiya began asking Naruto about his training so far. Naruto was enthusiastic, that's for sure. He began to speak about how useful the the restriction seals were and how it helped him to grow stronger and faster.

"Ero-sensei, do you have any seals that could provide an aid in battle. I've never seen you using any and I was wondering if Fuuinjutsu could be used in battle" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraiya nodded.

"Fuuinjutsu requires a lot of precision and chakra control and using it in battle is not advisable. For one, any Fuuin technique requires some level of concentration and the enemy won't necessarily wait for you to finish the move. The last shinobi who used sealing techniques in battle was the Yondaime with his Hiraishin. Other than that, though seals are used mostly as exploding tags. However, the teme Orochimaru managed to invent something although it isn't necessarily useful" – Said Jiraiya, before Naruto asked what it was to which Jiraiya continued. "It's called **Kuchiyose Raikou Kenka **(Summoning Lightning Blade Creation) and it consists of two seals located on the user's wrists in order to summon any time of projectiles you want to. The seal itself is easy to make, if you want I can do it for you. Afterwards, in order to activate it, you just have to tap two fingers at the seal and focus some chakra to it. The projectile of choice will appear immediately. Do you want this skill Naruto?" – Asked Jiraiya earning a prompt nod from the blond.

"With this technique, I wouldn't have to worry about carrying shurikens or kunais, plus I won't have to reach my holster for it, making more space for other survival equipments" – Said Naruto earning a nod from Jiraiya who in turn asked the blond to extend his arms with his hand palms facing the ceiling.

"The seal engraving will hurt, so hang in there" – Said Jiraiya as his finger suddenly glowed with chakra before he began to inscribe the needed seal on Naruto's wrist.

Jiraiya was right when he said the procedure would be painful. Naruto was gritting his teeth in agony while he was feeling the wrist burning while in contact with Jiraiya's glowing finger. After a while, the right hand wrist was done, leaving only the left one. Jiraiya explained that for the procedure to be complete, both wrists had to be done at the same time. Naruto nodded saying that he was now more accustomed to the pain to which Jiraiya nodded and proceeded to do the next hand.

"There all done, Naruto; we'll place a ribbon around it to help ease the pain and then we can take it off. I however, advise you not to take the bandage off if surprise is what you're aiming for. We could use a ribbon that covers the entire forearm and no one will see the seal until it's too late. Also, we could initiate from your hand as well, seeing as these gloves of yours hurt a little bit to use, no." – Said Jiraiya as he took off Naruto's gloves and began the job. In minutes, Jiraiya managed to cover the seal as well as Naruto's hand, before the meal arrived.

Naruto could only stare at the food in front of him as he wondered if it is any good compared to ramen. He looked at what appeared to be rice with salmon on top of it and grabbed one. After eating it, he was feeling kind of strange, seeing that the food didn't exactly require much chewing. However, when Naruto swallowed he actually liked the new food. Looking at his plate, he took the next one and this time dibbed with a black sauce that followed the dish. The result was even better and Naruto ate the whole plate the same way he ate ramen.

"I'll take it you like sushi, Naruto?" – Said Jiraiya as he smiled at Naruto's face when enjoying a meal.

"Liking it is an understatement Ero-sensei, it's delicious. It's nothing compared to ramen but at least now I found other food to eat besides the noodles." – Said Naruto before he called the waiter and asked for more sushi earning a smile from Jiraiya.

* * *

**===In Konoha's hospital===**

Inside the village's hospital, Tsunade and Shizune were visiting a kunoichi member of the Anbu forces as she was interned from heavy bruises and severe chakra exhaustion. The person was from Anbu so any data regarding the kunoichi was restricted to Anbu personnel and the Hokage herself. Tsunade was reviewing the treatment on the patient's history board and wasn't pleased at all. This was the second time the woman had to come to the hospital with the same level of bruises and chakra exhaustion and quite frankly, Tsunade was concerned with her health.

She spoke with the Anbu commander and he reported the kind of missions that Anbu member Cat made and it unnerved the Hokage since she knew it was the very person who was being treated that requested being sent to S ranked missions, AKA certain death. Shizune was also concerned for her once colleague at the academy and she feared that the death of her friend's lover may have caused this desire to do missions non-stop. Unfortunately, there have been cases of solitary ninjas who choose to go to suicide missions in hopes of forgetting their inner pain. She remembered when one Hatake Kakashi did this while in Anbu Black Ops, just after his last friend Rin was assassinated by the enemy.

"What are you thinking Shizune?" – Asked Tsunade as she flipped the page from the history board.

"I don't know she keeps doing this, Tsunade-sama. I don't know how she is feeling right now but she can't just keep going to these suicide missions, she will end up killed" – Stated Shizune earning a sigh in dismay from Tsunade who was thinking between these lines as well.

"I know Shizune but I can't do anything to stop here from doing so. According to the Anbu commander, she is the one requesting to do these so called suicide missions. I can't simply overrule her will on this; I wish I could but I can't. We can only hope that she manages to overcome whatever it is she's feeling right now and stop this nonsense. I'm sure someone already tried to talk to her, but she didn't listen. Come on Shizune, we'll leave her rest for the time being, this mission took a lot out of her and I'm afraid she'll be here for quite a while to recover" – Said Tsunade to which Shizune nodded and followed the blond Hokage out of the room thus leaving the purple haired Anbu alone to rest.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After lunch Naruto and Jiraiya returned to the waterfall but this time not to train Taijutsu. This time, Jiraiya would be introducing the so called meditation technique he spoke a while ago.

"Naruto, we'll do that exercise I talked about early and for that I'll call some company" – Said Jiraiya as he bit his thumb and proceeded with the hand seals needed for the Kuchiyose. Suddenly, two toads appeared with the exact same appearance. The only difference was that one was the size of a horse and the other the size of a pony. "Naruto, meet **Gamani** and his son **Gamanichibi**. They will aid us with this exercise"- Said Jiraiya before the two toads jumped on the water and swam towards the waterfall. Turning to Naruto, Jiraiya turned to explain the exercise.

"This exercise consists of controlling the flow of chakra inside your inner coils. By focusing on a single hand seal, you'll close your eyes and imagine yourself controlling the chakra through the chakra pathways. By doing this, you'll learn to be more controlled in tough situations and manage to think clearly despite being interrupted by the enemy, now strip to your boxers and let's join them under the waterfall" – Explained Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded and took off his clothes before jumping on the water and waited for the little toad to swim under him and lift him a little bit.

In minutes, they began to receive the brutal punishment of gravity as the sixty foot waterfall came crushing on their shoulders. Jiraiya immediately made the simples hand seal and began to control his chakra inside him, thus ignoring all sense of pain from the water falling on his shoulders. The toads were as well not bothered by the water. However, Naruto was finding it difficult to concentrate while receiving tons and tons of water on his shoulders. Seeing this, Jiraiya instructed Naruto as to the key of getting this exercise that was to focus one hundred percent on the chakra travelling inside him and worry not about pain on the outside.

Closing his eyes once more, Naruto made the hand seal and tried to focus on his inner chakra. It took a while but then he managed to let loose of the pain from the water and straightened his posture. This exercise served as means to get to know your chakra better in means of knowing just how much is needed for everything. Also, as Naruto learned how to do it, all of his senses of the outside world simply vanished thus entering in a sort of trance.

The toads looked at him and were surprised to see the blond already being able to meditate before returning to their trance as well.

Back to Naruto, he reached a state of self-awareness so great, that his mind began to race through all the events of his life so far. Naruto often wondered what he could have done differently, so he was imagining all these situations and placed different scenarios like he using the techniques he knew now against Haku and Zabuza or even against Neji at the Chuunin exams; also the fight against the Kaguya and also the one against Sasuke at the valley of the end.

Naruto was doing just like the pervert instructed. His chakra was travelling through his body. However, when his chakra reached Kyuubi's cage, it woke the fox who in turn opened his eyes to see that in front of him, Naruto's chakra was filling the entire room.

"**Very interesting, the brat is focusing on manipulating his chakra inside his body and he happened to focus as much of it here near my cage. Nevertheless, I can see that his chakra capacity increased ever since he left with the pervert to train. I guess now the imbecile will learn to fight and not embarrass me again."** – Said Kyuubi as he closed his eyes once more and returned to sleep.

A couple of hours passed and Naruto was still feeling his chakra when, suddenly, Jiraiya landed a hand on his shoulders, making Naruto open his eyes. When he opened them he realized that the sun was just about to settle down and then he looked to a smiling Jiraiya.

"You managed to complete the exercise, Naruto. Why don't we head back to the inn and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll begin your Rasengan training and I kind of hope that you can complete it by tomorrow, despite it not being your goal for this year" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto, before they went to the shore and grabbed their clothes. On the way to the inn, Naruto and Jiraiya discussed about Naruto's attempt on meditation.

"Ero-sensei, I wanted to talk to you about the fox" – Asked Naruto earning a look in surprise from Jiraiya because of the subject.

"When my chakra reached the fox's cage, the usual tension inside that place was suddenly diminished greatly, do you know why?" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraiya turned to think for a while.

"Naruto, the seal placed on the Kyuubi's cage acts according to your chakra. It's possible that since you overflowed the room with chakra that the seal acted strongly against the fox, thus controlling its urges. If this is true then your chakra capacity must have increased the last couple days. While we're here, you'll be doing this exercise more times. Today you managed to reach the state of trance thus being able to look inside your own body but meditation has also the purpose of self-awareness and that's where I want you to be at the end of our stay here in River Country, okay" – Explained Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded.

A couple hours later, both were at their room snoring like crazy from chakra over-usage.

* * *

**===Next day===**

The next day, Jiraiya and Naruto stood at a clearing in order to complete the one handed Rasengan.

"Naruto, the first phase of the Rasengan you already know how to do, let's attain to the second okay. After it, we'll move to third and final phase. Summon close to twenty Kage Bunshins and begin training, keep this pace and if you manage to go to the next one, do it. While you're doing this, I'll visit one of my sources around these parts." – Said Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded, before seeing the pervert leave the premises.

Turning once more to the empty clearing, Naruto made the necessary hand seal for the Kage Bunshin and used the equivalent chakra to summon his clones. However instead of twenty, Naruto chose to summon forty clones, in order to attempt the Hari Jizou technique while the others and the real one would attempt the Rasengan completion. The Hari Jizou wasn't that hard to master since Naruto on the first try had pretty much covered the basics. The problem now would be to figure out how much chakra would be needed to cover the entire body with the technique.

* * *

**===With Jiraiya===**

After leaving the brat alone to his training, Jiraiya travelled a couple miles before reaching a house in the middle of nowhere. Clearly a simple two story house in the middle of the forest would be considered like that. When Jiraiya knocked on the door, he heard what seemed to be a couple yelling to each other before a man opened the door and shouted angrily at whoever it was in order to vent out the frustration of marrying a bitch. Upon seeing the target of the man's frustrations, he realized the huge mistake he made and immediately apologized Jiraiya for the mishap.

"My excuses Jiraiya-sama, I didn't see it was you at the door. It's just that Sasame is behaving like a bitch these days and it is being tough to get some rest around here" – Said the man known as Kurama before seeing Jiraiya wave the man off as in dismissing the issue.

"No problems there Kurama-san, now I was wondering if you could give me information regarding this man?" – Said Jiraiya as he gave Kurama a picture of a C ranked Konoha Missing-nin called Izato. Kurama, after seeing the picture recognized the man instantly and informed Jiraiya that he asked for shelter to the River Country Daimyou and the man gave him a house to stay not far from their location. Jiraiya appreciated the information and asked if Kurama could draw a map for him.

"Sure, I'll draw you a map, no problem. I'd ask, though, why are you after a C ranked missing-nin, surely he wouldn't be of concern to a Sannin such as yourself" – Asked Kurama, though Jiraiya smiled and simply said that he would like to have a small conversation with the man and be on his way.

"I'm not of a hunter Kurama, so I'll just leave the job for them, I'll just talk to him, in order to acquire some info that's all, thanks for the map by the way" – Said Jiraiya to which Kurama nodded and then returned to the house where his wife started screaming for him to get a job instead of sleeping all the time.

By this time however, Jiraiya was far away from the house as possible. He needed to check if the information was accurate before he came with Naruto to battle this guy. Little did the blond know that Jiraiya wanted to test the boy's fighting skills against a number of opponents so he acquired the latest copy of Konoha's Bingo Book and selected a few enemies he knew Naruto would be able to beat. At first, he wondered if the hunter-nins would be angered with him for taking away their subsistence but he dismissed it seeing that the book was thick enough to provide a good number of hunts for everybody.

Upon arriving at the place indicated on the map, Jiraiya smiled upon finding the house and even the man he was looking for, returning from a forest nearby with wood on his arms for a fire, it seemed. Smiling once again, Jiraiya turned and returned to where Naruto was training in order to see how the blond was fairing with the Rasengan.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After two hours of training, the clones dealing with the Hari Jizou technique were already dispelled since the technique was already mastered by Naruto. So now, the blond was left with the Rasengan to master. The second phase of the technique went down fast as Naruto with his clones, needed close to thirty minutes to be able to do one handedly. The third part though proved to be difficult as now, both Naruto and the clones needed to use the first and second phase altogether. Also, since Naruto was unable to do the technique, he was hard-pressed not to simply use a clone to aid him and the technique would be completed.

However, he needed to concentrate and finish the technique today. His hands though, were already trembling from practicing for so long so he stopped for a while and let the clones continue, since they didn't feel pain. The clones protested a little but returned to doing the Rasengan single-handedly. Minutes passed and the technique was slowly being formed only to dissipate seconds later. It was unnerving to say the least. Getting annoyed, Naruto dispelled the clones and immediately felt the rush of information inside his head. The technique was almost complete so Naruto wouldn't need a bunch of clones to cut the time.

Resting for a while, Naruto decided to rest a little bit from slight chakra usage and loss of stamina. This was the scene that Jiraiya came. The pervert was surprised to see Naruto resting a bit because of his excess chakra capacity, but he chose not to press it. After all, getting the blond to calm down for a while was like a gift for the old sensei. "Hello there Naruto how's the training going?" – Asked Jiraiya, earning Naruto's attention.

"I managed the second phase alright, but the third is a whole different thing" – Said Naruto, though Jiraiya was certain the blond wasn't telling the whole truth. Jiraiya wasn't one of Sannin for nothing and he asked why Naruto didn't manage to finish the Rasengan, even though Jiraiya knew Naruto used more than twenty clones to master the Rasengan.

"Tell me Naruto, have you've been working on something else beside the Rasengan?" – Asked Jiraiya seeing Naruto playing the innocent, before he made hand seals and said **Ninpou Hari Jizou **(Ninja art: Underworld Guardian Spikes Jutsu). Jiraiya was astonished to see Naruto's hair growing, enveloping his body completely. He knew the blond would work on more than one area at the same time because of the clone's assistance but he never figured that Naruto would be able to master the Hari Jizou technique. "Well it seems you managed this technique already so I'll teach you another using the hair, but on a later date, now show me your Rasengan so far" – Said Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded and extend his arm.

After focusing the necessary chakra, the ball began its formation before being completed for two seconds. Naruto cursed once more his inability to do the damn technique but Jiraiya was too much lost in wonder to hear him complain. The technique execution was flawless and all it needed was to maintain the technique's rotation and strength instead of stopping after getting the ball done. _Is it possible that this brat managed to truly learn the Rasengan in less than six months? – _Thought Jiraiya as he heard Naruto continued the complaint.

"Naruto, stop complaining and try maintaining the rotation and force of the technique instead of releasing once making it" – Instructed Jiraiya to which Naruto cursed once more and attempted one more time.

This time though, he did as instructed by Jiraiya only to see the technique completed right in front of his eyes. Both he and Jiraiya marveled to see the energy being contained within a small sphere.

"Congratulations Naruto, you managed the Rasengan single-handedly now it's time to learn how to expand the ball's size, to at least double of your current one, however I believe we covered enough ground for today. So let's wait for tomorrow for more training. Now, remember when I said you would get to face different opponents?" – Asked Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded, before receiving the picture of the missing-nin.

"Naruto, this is serious right now. I understand you're getting stronger and you have a good battle experience for a Chuunin; however you still need to feel the pressure of fighting someone who could kill you if you're not careful enough. I know you sensed Momochi Zabuza's killing intent and I agree was quite threatening, however you didn't sense the full killing intent cause it wasn't directed towards you, but at Kakashi instead" – Explained Jiraiya earning a nod from Naruto who understood what the pervert wanted to say.

A ninja is required to kill and as such, he's also subjected to being killed by the one he was supposed to eliminate. Killing someone was a strange concept to Naruto even though he remembered being seconds away from killing Haku at Wave Country if he wasn't able to control his urges. "So you're suggesting that I kill this missing-nin?" – Said Naruto to which Jiraiya nodded with a serious expression.

"I wouldn't do this normally Naruto, however your first kill is going to be tough on you; believe me. Ask any ninja in Konoha that has killed already and they will tell you how hard it was to overcome this phase. Nevertheless, while is dangerous, it's necessary to overcome this for the future" – Said Jiraiya to which Naruto let out sigh in dismay before agreeing with the idea.

"So what do you know about this man's abilities?" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraiya smiled and showed the man's page from the bingo book. The man called Izato is considered a C ranked missing-nin with skills equivalent to a Chuunin. He is a mid-level fighter with knowledge of Katon Ninjutsu and proficiency in Taijutsu. His Katon Ninjutsu was limited though, to a couple techniques, so according to the book, it wouldn't be life threatening.

"He is located a few miles away from here so we'll go there right now and face him, are you ready?" – Asked Jiraiya earning a nod from Naruto.

"I can't say I know what will be like once the battle starts but I'm ready as I'll ever be. After all, it's either kill or be killed, right" – Said Naruto receiving a nod of confirmation from Jiraiya who smiled and then asked Naruto to follow him. On the way, Naruto asked Jiraiya if he was supposed to fight more of these missing-nins for his training before seeing Jiraiya nod in the negative.

"This will be the only one; the next ones will be people from other villages since you'll have to face different enemies with different abilities in order to improve your abilities as shinobi. With enough battle experience, you'll be able to choose exactly what techniques to use and when to use them. Now, let's hurry before our guy disappears on us." – Said Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded and followed the pervert towards the place where Naruto would have his fight.

* * *

**===Near the Missing-nin's location===**

Hiding behind a tree not at all bothering to hind their presences, since according to Jiraiya, they were testing the man's awareness of enemies. Naruto saw his target and frowned a bit. The man didn't look much, probably twenty years old, but his presence wasn't as strong as those he faced before, probably low Chuunin level, Naruto wondered. Jiraiya turned to him and observed Naruto for a while before smiling once again. The boy was learning faster than he thought. Naruto was analyzing the man, hoping to learn as much as possible from Izato.

"Naruto, I'll leave you against him. It will be you who will defeat him. I'll be close by in case you are in need of help, okay?" – Asked Jiraiya before seeing Naruto nodding at him.

"Ok, I'm ready to do this." – Said Naruto as he began to approach the enemy while suppressing his chakra.

Naruto wasn't stupid to hope that he would be able to sneak behind the enemy and simply slit his throat with a kunai, however he hoped, at least, to cover as much ground as possible in order to have the upper hand in battle. After a while, when Naruto entered the open field, he took out a kunai from his holster and only waited for an attack from Izato, which soon came as the man flipped his body fast and threw a couple of shurikens towards Naruto. Using the kunai, Naruto managed to block them all and jump in order to be in front of Izato, before addressing the man.

"Izato, from your crimes against Konoha, and as a shinobi from the village, I'll be the one to kill you, prepare yourself" – Said Naruto before taking his stance of fighting. Izato for his part, began to snicker in total underestimation at the blond's abilities.

"Get serious kid; what are you a Genin? I thought Konoha would send hunter-nins against me, not a little Genin. I guess they underestimate me." – Stated Izato earning a snarl from Naruto who didn't like being underestimated like that.

"Underestimating the enemy isn't a nice thing to do, you could be caught by surprise but I'm afraid that is only one way of knowing this doesn't it?" – Asked Naruto earning a nod from Izato, who at least would like the warm-up of beating a Genin.

From out of nowhere, Izato charged against Naruto with a powerful punch but Naruto managed to evade and twisted his body and landed a straight reverse kick on Izato's chest. The man was taken aback by the sudden increase of speed and even passed his hand on the wounded area, surprised that it was hurting like hell. Looking at the blond, the man snarled in anger. How dare this boy, Izato thought. He decided to not hold back anymore.

Molding some chakra, Izato began some hand seals before whispering **Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu). Suddenly, the fireball erupted from Izato's mouth and charged towards Naruto. The blond for his part, smirked at the insignificant size of the fireball. Both Sasuke's and Jiraiya's fireball were at least three and four times bigger respectively and he managed to dodge it. Charging some chakra on his feet, Naruto used it to dash to the right and charged against the man with a straight chakra powered punch to the man's jaw, before hitting straight on. Because of the power behind the punch, Izato was sent flying. Naruto however, didn't stop his attack as he made hand seals for **Gyorai Shin no Jutsu **(Torpedo Needles Jutsu). Instantly, chakra needled began its formation around Naruto's body, until he shot them straight at Izato who was still in mid-air. The needles hit the target and immediately, Izato's body was pierced multiple times.

Instantly, blood splattered everywhere and the man fell down on his knees, since some of those needles happened to pierce the leg's muscles. Izato looked at the blond now with blood in his eyes, this technique was strange, he thought. Izato wasn't familiar with the concept of chakra manipulation, since he was still Chuunin when he left Konoha, however he knew a normal Genin would know how to use chakra like the blond used. Looking at the blond one more time, Izato found that he was now feeling fear. He knew someone would come eventually and that he would have to face whoever it was but he was in no way prepared to die. As the blond approached him, Izato could see the boy's eyes as not familiarized to the world of killing. His pure cerulean eyes did well to show Izato of Naruto's innocence regarding the true way of the ninja.

Naruto for his part, wondered what he would do right now. Clearly, the man was incapacitated since his needles managed to pierce his leg's muscles so his movements were nullified. However, the thought of simply grabbing his kunai and cutting the man's jugular sickened the blond to no end. The blond wondered if by killing others, he would be compared to the one living inside of him. _If I can't do this, what will happen if I'm unable to deal properly with those who pose a threat to Konoha? _– thought Naruto as he picked his kunai once more. Without thinking, Naruto did pretend that he was pulling off a band-aid. He positioned the kunai on the guy's neck and without wondering anymore about what may happen from now on, Naruto did killed for the first time.

He just killed a man who was already beaten. Instantly, Naruto's eyes were lifeless as he looked at Izato's dead body while knowing it was him who killed the man. Jiraiya was already there by his side and wondered what the blond must be thinking right now. The fight was quite one-sided and if Naruto used the Rasengan, the fight would be over before it started, however the whole point of fighting missing-nins, was learning the harsh reality of killing like a ninja and Naruto would just have to face this issue and surpass it with time.


	5. Oodama Rasengan

**

* * *

****Chapter 5 – Oodama Rasengan **

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Six months had passed since Naruto learned the hard way of the ninja by killing one missing-nin from Konoha. After that event, it took Naruto almost three days to get back to normal. Until then, he wouldn't mutter a single word to his sensei, but Jiraiya never pressed the issue, knowing that Naruto would have to deal with it on his own. In the end, Naruto came clean to Jiraiya about his fear of being compared with the Kyuubi inside of him, but then he calmed down and understood that being a ninja sometimes means being ready to take lives. He hadn't just grown emotionally but psychically too, growing up a few inches in height. His muscles were now ripped because of the resistance seals.

Also, Naruto's training only increased. Surprisingly, both Naruto's speed and strength nearly doubled. Some time ago he had to stop using the restriction seals simply because he was already used to using them. Now he had to settle for weights like Lee and Gai so that his speed could increase in time. He now managed to give Jiraiya a run for his money in straight out Taijutsu match and that was saying something about his training. His training regimen was going nicely since his Taijutsu portion was almost completed. Of course, after that, he and Jiraiya would spar on occasion, but Naruto's Taijutsu was now on pair with a high-level Chuunin, bearing on low-Jounin level. Now, because of Naruto's regimen, Naruto was learning about Genjutsu, or rather what it takes to break one at least. Jiraiya learned a long time ago that when Naruto's high chakra capacity gives an advantage in both Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, but he just couldn't use Genjutsu effectively.

The reason was simple. Genjutsu requires almost perfect chakra control, to be able to use it and it consists of using a steady flow of chakra and invading the opponent's chakra system, thus beginning the illusion. But as much as Naruto practices his chakra control, he simply has too much chakra to be able to control it effectively up to the point of being able to perform Genjutsu. However, that didn't mean that Genjutsu should be a weakness for him. Learning how to disrupt the chakra flow was vital to keep the technique from doing any major harm on the ninja's mind and chakra flow.

Right now, Jiraiya was taking Naruto once again to a little canal that crossed the village where they were staying.

"Ok Naruto, now that the Taijutsu portion is over, Genjutsu is now the next issue. As you know, though, your chakra capacity doesn't allow you to perform Genjutsu, so this will be reduced to learning how to dispel Genjutsu effectively. As you know or don't know, Genjutsu techniques affect the user's chakra flow, thus tempering with all five senses depending on the technique and the Genjutsu user's will. So, there are two ways of disrupting the technique. The first one, and I believe is the most effective, is to disrupt your chakra flow" – Said Jiraiya, before looking at Naruto and smile upon seeing his puzzled look.

"Ero-sensei, I only understand English so please explain it to me in said language" – Said Naruto, earning a snort from Jiraiya who then explained it better.

"Disrupting your chakra flow is actually the first step, but the other part I'll explain it later. Now, in order to disrupt your chakra flow, you just need to simply stop the flow of your chakra. Imagine you're standing on water; you're using chakra to even its flow below your feet, right? Well, imagine you simply stopping the flow of chakra, what will happen?" – Asked Jiraiya.

"That's easy, you fall in the water." – Responded Naruto, wondering why he need to answer such a stupid question.

"Right, then the next step is to apply an even stronger chakra, thus disrupting the Genjutsu technique" – Explained Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto before Jiraiya continued. "Of course, just explaining to you is easy, but when you get to practice it, you'll see it's tougher. Don't worry, though, we'll be practicing a lot of Genjutsu disrupts and then, I'll be using you as my target. I'll be hitting you with every Genjutsu that I know and you must disrupt it at any cost, got it" – Explained Jiraiya, earning a contemplative nod from Naruto who afterwards crossed his arms while trying to digest the information.

Upon seeing this, Jiraiya smiled at his pupil. Every time Naruto didn't get the idea right away, he would accept the explanation and then try to elaborate it inside his head, thus trying to explain what needed to be done. Right now, the art of illusions was a foreign concept to the blond, not only because it was indeed a hard subject to learn, but also because he truly didn't show much interest in the field. The theory itself is complicated enough for Naruto not to use in the midst of a fight, so just like the pervert said, he would just learn how to dispel the illusion, instead of hoping to be able to use it effectively. Now as he was processing the information inside his head, Naruto was thinking of the concept behind disrupting Genjutsu that according to Jiraiya, it consisted of disrupting the flow of chakra and then reestablishing it with a surge, thus overcoming the opponent's chakra. Problem was that if Naruto wouldn't be able to overcome the opponent's chakra, the procedure wouldn't help.

"Ero-sensei, I was wondering about something…you said that after disrupting the chakra flow, I have to reestablish it with a surge, thus overpowering the opponent's chakra, but what can I do if the enemy's chakra is more powerful than mine?" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraiya nodded and explained.

"Indeed some Genjutsu masters managed to overcome the dispelling technique, so it would be useless to use it. In that case, there are two other alternatives. One of them you could use when you're alone against someone, but I wouldn't use it if I were you" – Said Jiraiya, earning a look in confusion from Naruto, before he elaborated further. "Immeasurable pain enables the illusion to fade almost instantly, but the cost is way too high. Therefore I'd say it's forbidden" – Explained Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto who then, asked from the next alternative that didn't involve sticking a kunai on his thigh.

"Well, the next alternative is using a foreign chakra to invade your body and end the Genjutsu. So, in another words, you'd need an ally in battle for that" – Explained Jiraiya, hearing a snort, afterwards from Naruto.

"So, basically, if the first alternative doesn't work, I'm basically screwed and would have to depend on someone else to aid me, great" – Said Naruto with bare sarcasm, but Jiraiya simply smiled and acknowledged Naruto's blunt expression.

"Don't worry much about it, Naruto. After we train Genjutsu, you'll know almost instantly that someone is casting on you, having even better chances of breaking it. Also, Genjutsu masters decreased since the last war, so apart from the Uchiha, there won't be much Genjutsu users" – Explained Jiraiya, but he knew Naruto wouldn't even hear the rest. Sometime ago, Naruto declared war against what was left of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke almost killed him because of selfish reasons and Itachi is after the Kyuubi living within him.

"I have to be prepared in case either Sasuke or Itachi uses a Genjutsu on me. I heard that Itachi has the supreme Genjutsu that's impossible to break, is it true?" – Asked Naruto, earning a nod from Jiraiya.

"There are few things that are impossible these days and Itachi's Tsukyomi is impossible to break. To beat him, you have to stop resorting on your eyes to fight or either find a way to avoid direct eye contact. Such Genjutsu do not even require a strong mind either. You enter an alternative world where he controls everything and trust me, he knows how to break anyone like he managed to break Kakashi's mind. You do remember that only Tsunade was able to heal him, don't you?" – Asked Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto.

"So, how can I hope to go against him if he could simply look at me and I'm finished" – Snarled Naruto, since he didn't know the answer. Facing Itachi alone was one thing he wouldn't ever do.

"Well, Naruto let's focus on today alright. You are miles away from having the strength needed to face him. We'll train your Genjutsu abilities, okay" – Asked Jiraiya, to which Naruto nodded as they continued to walk towards the little river.

* * *

**===At Takigakure===**

Unlike many hidden villages, Takigakure was considered the invisible city simply because it was virtually impossible for someone who wasn't a villager to know where the city was located. For this reason, that their shinobi placed one condition for hosting their first Chuunin exams. Also, it served to be the first phase of the exams, since in order for the teams to arrive, they must find their way through the mountain in order to reach the village. The problem was that because the caves inside the mountain had so much earthquakes, the pathways that lead to the village would change, thus protecting them from enemy invasions.

That being said, only those highly experienced in the shinobi arts, would be able to progress to the next part of the exam. In the village's arena, only five teams managed to pass the pathways from the twenty that tried. Of course, the Chuunin hopefuls signed a waiver, so the village would be safe from some old beings from some village's council blaming Takigakure for deliberately killing their Genin. Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Tenten, Neji and Lee were waiting for their matches to start, as they were watching a Suna Genin battling against one from Kiri. Due to clan circumstances, both Hinata and Ino were unable to participate and since Ino couldn't go, Tsunade couldn't find a team to place Chouji in.

Ever since Naruto left the village, the Konoha 9 trained themselves to the brick of exhaustion. Their goal was to pass the next Chuunin exams at all cost. Sakura studied under both Tsunade and Shizune and was already considered a prodigy on the medic field. Plus, the fact that both her agility and strength nearly quadrupled. A couple months prior to the Chuunin exams, she managed to master Tsunade's Taijutsu technique and even managed to use to break a couple of boulders that were meant to end her team's life in the caves.

Also, since she filled Hinata's place in Team 8, Kurenai managed to teach her a couple of useful Genjutsu techniques for her to learn. The crimson eyed woman was astonished at Sakura's level of chakra control and understood why she perked Tsunade-sama's interest. Of course, she didn't know that it was Naruto who asked Tsunade to accept Sakura, but still it was commendable.

Shino and Kiba, after the Suna invasion, turned to their parents for more advanced family techniques, managing to learn quite a few before the Chuunin exams date. Neji and Lee helped Tenten with her training with weapons and her accuracy was now better than most Jounin in Konoha. Now, however, was the real test to see if they trained hard enough to earn the title of Chuunin.

Looking at the arena, the Genin from Suna focused Fuuton chakra in a kunai and threw it at his enemy. The kunai was instantly compared to an arrow that pierced the sky straight towards the Genin from Kiri. Seeing that dodging would be impossible, the Genin from Kiri, which turned out to be a blue-haired beautiful girl called Kaori used a **Mizu Kawarimi** (Water Substitution Technique), thus escaping the deadly attack. Now turned as a puddle of water, she moved quickly to the other Genin's side and materialized once more, before making hand seals, hoping that her opponent wouldn't be able to escape. '**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu **(Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Jutsu)'

The one from Suna focused upon sensing the chakra usage, but it was too late as the dragon was already hot on his tail, hitting him dead on. The man was unconscious even before hitting on the ground. Up in the stands, all ninjas applauded the girl from her mastery in Suiton Ninjutsu and the Konoha teams were talking amongst themselves.

"Wow, I wouldn't like to go against her any time soon" - Said Kiba, earning a nod from Shino and Sakura, while Lee only displayed his enthusiasm and Neji displayed an arrogant smile.

"Indeed, getting hit by the water dragon technique is tough; not because of the damage itself, but also the amount of water inside your lungs. I just hope to get a good hit on her before she uses any water techniques" - Stated Sakura, when the referee shouted the next match.

"Winner is Kaori from Kiri, the next match is between Haruno Sakura from the Leaf and Takashi from Iwa, please approach the center of the arena" - Shouted the referee.

The pink-haired girl stiffened for a bit, before breathing slowly, thus easing the tension. Being Tsunade's apprentice, she wasn't sent much to missions, and as a result, she wasn't able to acquire much battle experience. Also, this was the first time Sakura managed to advance to the final stage, so she wasn't used to battling in front of a crowd. So she wasn't so comfortable upon thinking that all eyes were on her. She learned from her sensei Tsunade that the job of the medic-nin is often the most dangerous while on a mission. The reason was that they had to concentrate on keeping a constant flow of chakra to heal the wounded while hearing the worst distractions kind of like explosions and battle cries. She remembered an exercise where she needed to heal someone that suffered a flesh wound from a kunai while fake enemies would use all sorts of flashy jutsus with the purpose of losing her concentration.

_This is nothing compared to Izumo and Kotetsu-sempai's noises while I was trying the exercise. Man, those two could be annoying when they want to be...Now, I must focus on my opponent and my opponent only_ – Thought Sakura as she eyed Takashi in front of her who in turn was smiling from ear to ear.

Probably thinking it would be a easy fight to win, Sakura snorted. With time, her rather 'active' personality only increased and there were times when she just wanted to punch someone right in the face. _Guess, he will lose that smile of his after I break his teeth_, _**SHANNARO!!!**_

Sakura was ready when the referee authorized the fight's beginning, however Takashi found it entertaining and now was laughing even harder.

"Please girlie don't make me laugh, how a petite girl like you managed to come this far, it's unknown to me, no matter you won't go further, that I can assure you" - Said Takashi, earning a snort from Sakura. She was going to reply, but she was cut short when she heard someone screaming, before turning to see Tenten being held by Lee while cursing quite a number of names on Takashi from diminishing women compared to men. Smiling, she closed her eyes and looked at Takashi, before offering her reply.

"I feared you'd talk as much as your mouth is big. It's quite annoying if you ask me. Don't insinuate that because I'm a girl, that you will have an easy time beating me. Trust me, when this fight is over, I'm sure you'll change your way of thinking concerning the opposite sex" - Said Sakura, before seeing Takashi smile and closing his eyes showing that he didn't believe a single word the girl said.

However, a second later, the man would forever think twice before laughing at kunoichi. Takashi didn't even open his eyes and he immediately felt immeasurable pain on his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sakura's fist practically piercing his skull, before his body was somersaulted throughout the stadium.

Takashi flipped his body using the momentum, before looking at Sakura with mixed feelings, surprise and anger. He never felt such pain before and surprisingly, for him, it came from a girl. The reason for his anger was being caught by surprise.

"You fucking whore, how dare you? Now you're dead" - Said Takashi as he initiated a series of hand seals. '**Doton Doryuu Dango** (Earth Release: Mausoleum Earth Dumpling Jutsu)'

Instantly, Takashi smashed his hands on the ground and lifted a huge boulder, before throwing it straight at Sakura. The boulder wasn't as big as to incorporate the entire stadium, so Sakura managed to evade the attack, before throwing four shuriken at Takashi. The man sneered at the attack and grabbed a kunai to deflect them all easily. However, Sakura wouldn't let him as she began her series of hand seals for the Dokugiri technique.

Takashi cursed the incoming black cloud, but Sakura's plan worked since Takashi forgot about the incoming shuriken, which then, pierced his flesh. The man's screams of pain echoed throughout the entire stadium and immediately forfeited the match from fear of dying from blood loss.

Seeing this, Sakura ended the poison smoke technique and landed on the ground only to hear the referee voicing her victory. From the furthest corner of the stadium, Sakura could see the judges smiling at her display, which she assumed would qualify her for upgrading her in rank.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Obviously oblivious to Sakura's abilities, Naruto was training how to counter Genjutsu techniques. More specifically, Naruto and his clones were training how to counter Genjutsu. Naruto's clones were perfect for chakra related techniques since they could transfer knowledge back to the real one. Physical training, though, Naruto had to do on his own, but that he already got covered.

Since his chakra capacity only grew with time, Naruto was able to fill the lake with clones, earning a lot of complaints from the local villagers because they couldn't use the lake for their needs like washing their clothes or gather some water for cooking. Seeing this, Jiraiya called all the Narutos to a halt, since the boy also needed the rest, even though the blond never complained.

"Oi Naruto, come here for a second, I want to talk to you" - Shouted Jiraiya, earning a gathered scream from the blonds, before they began to dispel one by one. It actually took a while for all of them to leave, but the results were instant.

"What's up Ero-sensei? I believe I almost got it covered with the Kage Bunshin training" - Gloated Naruto, earning a nod in acknowledgment from Jiraiya who, then, took a sit on the ground, ushering Naruto to do the same.

"Naruto, I've been thinking about your schedule of training and ways to increase your training" - Said Jiraiya, instantly picking Naruto's interest, before the pervert elaborated. "With your Kage Bunshin training, you managed to train close to four months worth of Genjutsu. The only issue left is to practice for real. Now, I have a proposition for you" - Explained Jiraiya.

"What kind of proposition are you talking? Is it a new jutsu?" - Asked Naruto, earning a chuckle from Jiraiya, who couldn't help but feel that way upon seeing Naruto's eagerness to become stronger.

"I'm talking about improving your Rasengan" - Said Jiraiya, but instead of seeing the usual glimpse in Naruto's eyes, he saw confusion.

"Ero-sensei, I've already learned how to use the Rasengan single-handed. What more is there to learn about it?" - Asked Naruto, earning a snort from Jiraiya.

"Kid, the Rasengan was the Forth's prized technique together with the Hiraishin. For your information, it took him nearly three years to create the Rasengan, do you really think you managed to complete the technique after only using it for a little over six months. Using the technique in one hand, was actually a handicap you needed to overcome. The power behind your spiraling ball didn't change at all, it just became faster to create, do you see where I'm going with this?" - Asked Jiraiya, earning a subtle nod from Naruto.

"So you're saying that I can control the force of the technique?" - Asked Naruto, before he saw Jiraiya suddenly extending his arm and create a normal sized Rasengan.

"Watch closely, Naruto" - Said Jiraiya, as he focused on the technique.

As he watched, Naruto wondered if he was seeing things as the spiraling sphere was growing in size right in front of him. It didn't take long until the sphere doubled its size. Seeing the astonished look from the blond, Jiraiya smirked, before explaining the concept behind the technique.

"Naruto, as you know, to do the Rasengan, both chakra rotation and force are condensed, forming a sphere. So in theory, you need to increase the speed and the force behind the technique while maintaining the sphere shape" - Explained Jiraiya, before seeing the face of shock from Naruto. He expected as much, since the concept itself took Minato three years to create.

"Sounds difficult...." - Muttered Naruto as he considered the idea inside his mind.

"No Naruto, it sounds impossible. But while for others it is nearly impossible, for you is just difficult, seeing as you can use the Kage Bunshin to train. But, let's worry about this another time, for now we'll test Genjutsu attacks on you and it will be up to you to break them, got it" - Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto.

"I'll begin with a D ranked illusion and then I'll increase to a C level. The higher the rank, the more chakra is used, thus you have to overcome the amount of chakra I'm using, okay?" – Asked Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto who put up some distance between him and the pervert, before nodding once more. Jiraiya understood the queue and molded his chakra with the simplest illusion, by using the rat seal. **Magen Narakumi no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu)

Instantly, Jiraiya disappeared and instead the demon fox itself appeared before Naruto, showing his hell viewing, aka the Kyuubi's escape. The demon grabbed Naruto with his claws and was about to eat the blond when Naruto begin the sequence for disrupting Genjutsu. First, he stopped his chakra flow and then he immediately flooded his chakra coils with his chakra. **KAI!!!**

Jiraiya appeared in front of him smiling at Naruto from managing to break a D ranked Genjutsu.

"Nicely done Naruto, now let's see the higher level illusions. Remember the higher the technique, it will take an even higher amount of your chakra to overcome my illusion. Now let's see you overcoming a C ranked illusion. Try increasing your chakra even more than the amount you used for the D ranked Genjutsu. Let's go – Said Jiraiya, before initiating a different series of hand seals and molding the necessary chakra for **Kori Shinchuu no Jutsu** (Sly Mind Effect Jutsu).

Now, Naruto saw the landscape in front of him slowly falling upon him and he wondered what type of illusion this was. He remembered Jiraiya explaining that illusions are powerful allies of a ninja; since with them, pain, suffering, grief, fear, all negative emotions could be transferred to the opponent and make him suffer everything simultaneously. He once again began the technique needed for disrupting the technique, but since the mountain would take some time to fall down on him he had time to test how much chakra is needed to overcome a C ranked Genjutsu. He used the amount he used for the D ranked one, but this time it wasn't enough as the mountain kept falling on him. Once again, he began the sequence, only this time he used a larger quantity of chakra, before the real mountain appeared in front of him.

"Good good Naruto, very good; it's okay to use this opportunity to test how much chakra is needed, but in a real fight, be sure to know that the enemy won't give you time to use a counter. When we spar once more, we'll be able to use all three forms of ninja arts and by that time, you'll be able to disrupt the technique before it actually starts. Next one, is the B ranked Genjutsu, and for now on Naruto, the illusions are powerful enough and susceptible to inflict mental trauma if the mind is weak, focus on the objective and don't face the illusion like it was real, okay?" – Asked Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded, before the pervert began a complicated series of hand seals for **Magen Jigoku Gouka** (Demonic Illusion: Hell Fire Jutsu)

After Jiraiya stopped with the last seal, Naruto expected for the illusion to begin, except that nothing happened. Jiraiya was just standing there with his eyes focused and with his hands doing the last hand seal. Suddenly, though, the temperature began to increase exponentially. When Naruto looked up, though, he regretted this decision forever as a huge fireball engulfed him in milliseconds, burning his skin. Naruto knew this was an illusion, hell he saw Jiraiya doing it, but the pain was so much unbearable that he couldn't focus on the disruption technique.

All he could do right now was to scream from the pain. Upon seeing this, Jiraiya had to stop the technique from fear of further damaging Naruto's mind. Naruto was in so much pain that even though Jiraiya broke the illusion, he kept screaming as his memory believed he was still burning to death. It took Jiraiya to shake him a couple of seconds to wake him up from the nightmare that was to burn down.

"Naruto are you okay? Answer me, please" – Shouted Jiraiya, but the only response he got was Naruto shakily nodding his head in acknowledgement. "It's better that we stop for now, let's head to where we're staying so you can rest" – Advised Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto who had to be carried by the old Sannin since his legs were shaking a lot.

Hours later, Jiraiya was staring at the fire place of the hotel inn they were staying as he remembered the scene before his eyes. The Genjutsu that he used on Naruto was only B ranked chakra wise, but the effects can lead to an A ranked illusion if the opponent never faced it before. Jiraiya's concern was that perhaps, Naruto has been training so much that he didn't had the chance to simply wander around a little, take in the sights or even have a bath at the onsen. Jiraiya wondered if he should cut some of the blond's slack. It wasn't that Naruto complained about the over-load of training which he never did, but what happened today was, clearly, a result from fatigue. The pain was unbearable for sure, but Naruto just couldn't train all the time during these three years.

It wasn't long until Jiraiya heard some footsteps coming his way. He didn't need to turn to see who was making the noise as the person just seated next to the pervert, but for some reason couldn't meet eye to eye.

"Don't worry about it Naruto. Genjutsu, sometimes, can deal more damage than Ninjutsu and Taijutsu combined. The key to a powerful Genjutsu is to attack the very mind of the user, making him see, hear or feel things that aren't there. Also, if you don't want to feel pray to it ever again, you'll need to have a strong mind, or strong resolve to settle your differences and grieves in life. The only reason Genjutsu is able to affect us so much, is because we can't help but be human, we all have emotions, we all suffer from them. It's inevitable" – Said Jiraiya as he looked at the blond's eyes for a while.

"I know that somewhat, but if I want to fight an Uchiha, I have to get accustomed to Genjutsu attacks. I'd be damned if either Sasuke or Itachi just look at me and the fight is over" – Explained Naruto, earning a nod from Jiraiya.

"We'll have plenty of time to train you in that area; amongst others as well so please do not worry. Rest for today and we'll give another try at the Genjutsu later on" – Said Jiraiya, but Naruto's face was clear to Jiraiya.

Every time, the Sannin mentioned the word rest, Naruto would just shove it and say he needed to train harder. Jiraiya once remembered how he had to use a Genjutsu to get the blond to sleep.

"Naruto, I'm serious this time. I told you that resting your body after a stressful exercise is imperative. You don't want me to use that technique once more, do you? I'll use it if it means to slow you down somehow" – Stated Jiraiya to which Naruto snorted, but said nothing at first. He then, turned toward his bed and simply walked for a while, before turning to face Jiraiya.

"I guess I'll go to sleep, then. Good night Ero-sensei" – Said Naruto to which Jiraiya nodded.

"Don't worry Naruto, you'll be stronger in no time, rest up kid and tomorrow we'll take a look at the new Rasengan we talked about" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto who then continued to walk towards his bed.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

Looking at the ceiling for what seemed like forever, one Uzuki Yuugao tried hard to remember what happened for her to be back at the hospital. Didn't matter though to her as in a matter of seconds, everything that happened in her last S ranked mission came flooding her mind. She remembered the war like mission she threw herself in and the number of opponents she faced pretty much alone. She even remembered being hit so much in the ribs that she passed out right there on the field. It was good that she had at least someone to rescue her or else she wouldn't be alive right now.

That was the thing though. Yuugao thought often times about what she could do to end her misery and going through high risk missions seemed like an honored way to go and in the same time, get to join her lover in heaven. Gekkou Hayate died trying to warn Konoha from the impeding Sand Sound Invasion in Konoha, but on the way, he engaged in battle against a Sand Jounin who used an elemental blade and killed him. At the time, Yuugao saw his limp body for a while, but she couldn't cry. After all, she belonged to the most prestigious ninja order in Konoha, but while she couldn't cry throughout the mission, she could at least have some time alone to do that once she goes to sleep alone in his apartment.

So many memories of her lover were impregnated throughout her life and personal belongings that she couldn't forget his death and move on with her life. Friends already tried to encourage her into moving on, she even remembered the Hokage advising her into stop getting herself killed all those times, but she just couldn't. Being a strong ninjas like herself, eventually the only way for her to vent her frustration was going on mission after mission.

Looking to the left, she saw her belongings and got out of bed to collect them, however because of spending so much time in bed; her entire body ached to no end. Plus her ribs were still hurting.

_Man, those iwa-nins hit hard; I can still feel his feet hitting my stomach hard. I guess I'll have to do some routine missions for the time being and then I can ask for a tougher mission_ – Thought Yuugao as she grabbed her cat mask and placed, before opening the door to her room and disappeared before the nurse could come and check up her health, just like all the other times Yuugao had to heal.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

When the first ray of sunshine entered the room, Jiraiya opened his eyes after a nice drunken sleep. Well, actually, he was already feeling the hangover but the sleep was fantastic. He was only waiting, though, to hear the same thing he hears all the time.

"**KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU**"

_There it is – _Thought Jiraiya as he smiled. Every day, Naruto would wake up sooner and do some light workout by summoning some clones and fight against them in straight Taijutsu.

Getting up, Jiraiya dressed up and head straight outside to see Naruto fighting off against 10 of his clones. Usually, Jiraiya would be surprised to see such a display of Taijutsu, but after seeing for god knows how long, he ceased to be amazed. Naruto with one roundhouse kick followed by one reverse kick on the other side managed to dispel three of his clones and another two of them were already on his tail, obliging him to use his arms to defend against the barrage of punches that soon followed. However, the best defense is offense, so Naruto kept defending the punches for a while before seeing an opening given by one of the clones, thus aiming a straight punch at the clone's nose, thus dispelling him. The other one was surprised and looked to the smoke next to him, allowing Naruto to land a reverse kick on the last clone's ribs.

Looking at the pervert from afar, Naruto dispelled the rest of the clones and ran straight to his teacher.

"Good morning Ero-sensei" – Greeted Naruto, but now displaying a much healthier smile which was noted by Jiraiya.

"Good morning Naruto, I see you are already warmed up for today, let's begin with the Rasengan training, then" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto who instantly summoned a couple hundred Kage Bunshins, before all of them screamed the word 'ready' in unison.

"Good, good, now leave the clones to the Rasengan for now Naruto, I want to try something with you, if I may" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from the real one before he turned to the clones and nodded at them, before turning once again to Jiraiya as the clones began to form the Rasengan and then expand its shape. Jiraiya for his part, smiled at Naruto's large chakra capacity before looking down on the real one.

"Naruto, I want to see if you're able to utilize a weapon in combat" – Stated Jiraiya.

"What kind of weapon?" – Asked Naruto, though the subject was interesting. He had to fight a iwa-nin two months ago and the man had a bo-staff to compete. The image of the opponent blocking all the shadow shuriken made Naruto eager to know about the art of the bo-staff. Other weapons, though, weren't that much interesting. He could take care of himself with a kunai or even a nodachi (small sword), but he wouldn't even bother to learn a katana or kodashi. Upon looking at Jiraiya, the man gave the answer.

"I have with me here stored either a katana or a bo-staff. Which one do you like to learn?" – Asked Jiraiya, knowing that the answer was obvious. Naruto chose the bo-staff, right on the spot.

"Good choice Naruto, I could even teach you my sensei's style of fighting. Sarutobi Hiruzen was considered a master in the art" – Said Jiraiya, smiling at the boy's choice, but Naruto smiled even further upon realizing just to whom was Jiraiya referring.

"You mean to say that I can learn the old man's style. Ain't that sort of clan secret? What if the Sarutobi Clan finds out?" – Asked Naruto, receiving a nod from Jiraiya.

"My sensei's bo-staff style is free to all those who wishes to learn how to use this weapon Naruto. Besides, he would have gladly taught you in person, in case he knew you wanted to. Now, here is the scroll for you to read before you sleep for later training. Now, join your clones for the Rasengan training" – Said Jiraiya to which Naruto nodded, before extending his hands and forming the energy sphere from thin air.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

The moon started to rise in Konoha as the lights were slowly appearing throughout the village. The stores beginning to close and the bars and restaurants were beginning to open for the lovers, friends and family to frequent. Both civilians and shinobi filled the streets with life and joy as they wandered out places. One Anbu operative, though, wasn't so thrilled to be coming home after three months of risked assignments. After leaving the hospital, Yuugao's team did some security scouts throughout the village territory before being freed by the Anbu commander since she was still in recovery from the last mission.

To say the truth, though, she didn't want to return to her apartment. It was always empty now because of her lover's death and she didn't want to sleep alone. Of course, she slept alone outside the village amongst missions, but it was different since she didn't have to stare at her empty bed where she and her soon to be husband shared so many moments together. Sometimes, she would even sleep on the sofa from fear of having nightmares of Hayate's death.

The doctor said once that plenty of rest would speed her recovery, but he neglected to take into consideration that Yuugao wasn't able to sleep more than two to three hours before nightmares begin to plague her mind. The neighbors even commented about the fact that Yuugao would scream Hayate's name repeatedly after one of the worst nightmares she ever had.

_I'm tired, but what will happen once I close my eyes. I can't help but want to feel Hayate's body close to me. It was the only thing that comforted me enough to fall asleep, but now he's gone from my life' – _Thought Yuugao as she took off her Anbu clothes, revealing a beauty not seen in many Kunoichi. It could better be described as a goddess amongst women. Her beautiful purple hair in perfect synchronization with her beautiful brown eyes and her smooth skin; clearly any men who managed to get a look at her would be thankful just by looking. But she didn't leave it for long, putting some light clothes and try to sleep early.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

The Rasengan training, surprisingly, took longer than expected. Ever since Naruto began using the Kage Bunshin, nearly four hours passed for him to be able to expand the size of the Rasengan. It was without time, though, as a minute later, Naruto would simply pass out from chakra loss. He was able to expand the Rasengan at least four times to what he was able to do and the ball now was twice the size Jiraiya's normal Rasengan appeared. The damage, of course, increased exponentially as Naruto slammed it on a small hill. He managed to create a ten feet in diameter tunnel all the way to the other side, before passing out in the middle of it.

Now, Jiraiya was carrying the blond back to the hotel with a proud expression of his face. Training with clones did wonders for Naruto and in little more than six months, Naruto already increased his Taijutsu, Genjutsu and the Rasengan abilities to at least a high Chuunin. By the end of the year, Naruto would learn how to use the bo-staff effectively and then, finally, begin wind elemental manipulation. Jiraiya was so enthusiastic that he began to consider teaching Naruto a second affinity on the third year, maybe Doton or Suiton.

* * *

**AN**: Hey to my readers out there, this story has given me so much ideas about Naruto's training, that I chose to expand it. Now, I'm in doubt which element for Jiraiya to teach Naruto after the wind training. Below are the alternatives:

1 - Katon (Fire)

2 - Suiton (Water)

3 - Doton (Earth)

Since Jiraiya would be the one teaching him, I would want for Naruto to learn Jiraiya's **Doton Yumi Numa** (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Jutsu), but I'll leave that choice to you guys. Oh and please tell me the reason of your choosing. Thank you all for reading my stories and I hope to like them all as they evolve.


	6. Elemental Training

_**AN**__: Hello everyone, I'm back one more time with the next chapter of this story._

_First, though, I'd like to review the results of the elemental poll placed on last chapter. For those who don't remember, I wanted for Naruto to learn a second affinity in his training with __Jiraiya, so I placed a poll on three choices: Katon (fire), Suiton (water) and Doton (earth). I've read through all the reviews and one specific element emerged victorious. _

_**Suiton: 25 votes**_

_Doton: 17 votes_

_Katon: 5 votes_

_Although the majority of the readers voted for suiton, the reasons for choosing said element were because of a possible fusion with wind element, to create hyoton. I want to be clear with the whole hyoton idea. __**I won't happen in this story!**__ Only Haku and those from Snow Country had the ability to merge both fuuton and suiton element to use hyoton. A bloodline is necessary to use the element and Naruto doesn't have it. However, he will be learning suiton jutsus from Jiraiya._

_Now back to the story_

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Elemental Training**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya were walking on a plain field as the sun was just about to set. The first year was already at its end and Naruto managed to finish his Genjutsu training to at least acceptable levels. Clearly, he wasn't cut out for the art of illusions, but at least he would be able to escape from almost any technique that someone casted on him. After the Genjutsu part, Naruto focused his entire team on physical exercises in order to build some muscles and stamina. Both his muscles and height grew and now Naruto was almost reaching Jiraiya's neck. The pervert was surprised by Naruto's sudden growth, but then he suspected it had something to do with not eating so much ramen all the time, instead eating healthy food.

Another part of Naruto's training revolved towards learning the katas of Sarutobi's clan style. Naruto received a present from Jiraiya; a unique staff, made with heavy metal for bigger impact. The weapon was black with silver at each end. At first, Naruto appeared to be swinging the weapon like a drunk civilian, but with practice, Jiraiya could very well see that Naruto managed to use the weapon as if it was an extension of his body. The style consisted of using the staff together with body movements that would improve the weapon's speed and more deadly and Naruto was well in his way to learn one of the Sandaime Hokage's many legacies. Also, the staff was special since Naruto could use chakra to diminish its size and keep it like a sword strapped on his back. Because of this, he could very well surprise the enemy by using chakra to elongate the weapon.

Right now, the pervert was massaging his bruised left cheek and Naruto could only sigh in dismay seeing that his sensei would never learn his lesson. Every time, they would walk inside a village, they had to leave not because of danger that Akatsuki would find them, but rather escaping from the women's wrath after spotting the pervert peeping on them.

"Oi Naruto, let's settle for today, it's already night and it's not wise to travel in the dark" - Said Jiraiya, earning a snort from Naruto, who knew that he just wanted to stop to put some ice on the wound so that it would stop hurting.

"Ok Ero-sensei, but at least admit that your abilities in peeping greatly diminished these days. Almost every village we've been to, you were discovered and we had to run away" - Laughed Naruto, before recieving a punch in the head from Jiraiya.

"Oh what was that for, Ero-sensei?" - Asked Naruto, though he was smiling inside from being able to irritate his teacher.

"That's for making fun of the abilities of the almighty gama-sennin, brat. Now, let's fix up the tent and gather some wood" - Said Jiraiya, before smiling upon seeing Naruto mumbling some curse words to the Sannin, while looking for some wood to ignite a fireplace.

After everything was set, Jiraiya used a small Katon jutsu and lit up the fire.

"Ero-sensei; how long before we meet that friend of yours, what is his name again?" - Asked Naruto as he was lying down on the ground while looking at the stars. It somehow eased Naruto to look at the sky at night. He would be lost in trying to look at the constellations that Jiraiya once taught him, but it was relaxing nonetheless.

Jiraiya smiled at his prodigy pupil. In the beginning of this journey, Jiraiya sometimes confused Naruto with Namikaze Minato, simply because of the drive both had towards training and improving their abilities. However, with time, Jiraiya managed to separate their personalities simply because Naruto was more of a prankster than Minato, often playing jokes with the Sannin, a trait that Naruto's mother had.

"His name is Makoto Soujiro and he lives in a village close to the desert that separates Fire Country from Wind Country. In actuality, he is now a retired shinobi, but the man was responsible for great deeds for Suna in his prime. Some say that his Fuuton skills rivaled none and even say that he could've become Kazekage if he so pleased. He'll be more than adequate to teach you the art of wind Ninjutsu" - Explained Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto as he flipped a dango stick in his mouth.

"I wonder, though, if I will be able to use the element effectively. I've read a book that said that Fuuton Ninjutsu was hard to learn and even harder to master in order to be used in battle effectively." - Wondered Naruto, but Jiraiya only smiled before explaining to Naruto.

"Indeed, wind users were rare in this world because of those reasons. However, for those who manages to learn the element that information alone sends an opponent on edge. Wind is the most feared element in all the elemental nations, Naruto. It serves both as close and middle range and anyone who dares to face a wind user will most certainly lose. The only weakness, though, is long-ranged, but you don't have to worry about it. Long range users are easy to beat, once you know the most important thing" - Explained Jiraiya, before Naruto turned his attention to Jiraiya.

"Those who can only attack from a distance are rendered useless when the opponent learns how to get closer, meaning that once you eliminate the distance between you and a long range fighter, he's done for and have to adapt his fighting skills" - Said Jiraiya, earning a nod in acceptance from Naruto.

As times passed, student and sensei continue to talk about the difference between close and long range fighting and how to use the opponent's strength against him. It didn't take long for them to say goodnight to each other as Naruto stayed on guard until Jiraiya would relieve him in four hours.

* * *

**===the next day===**

After erasing all evidence of their presence, Jiraiya and Naruto moved towards the place where they would be for at least a couple of months. Naruto didn't know, but Jiraiya did already converse with Soujiro regarding the blond's training in Fuuton Ninjutsu. Soujiro showed interest in training the boy at the time, since he knew from Jiraiya, that the boy was strong-willed enough to learn everything about wind Ninjutsu. After a couple hours walking, the desert appeared in the horizon, meaning that the two were near from their destination. However, Naruto was confused upon seeing that Jiraiya stopped and was looking for something.

"Ero-sensei, what are you doing?" - Asked Naruto, but Jiraiya offered no response, instead just smiled before beginning an intricate set of seals. The seal sequence took longer than Naruto thought and suddenly Jiraiya slammed his hands on the ground with force. The results stunned Naruto as the image shifted from a plain field to a two story house with a considerable garden. After seeing it, Naruto did the only thing he could at the moment. He let his chin fell and the mouth open at the possibility of such a thing.

Making a house disappear using chakra was something out of this world, Naruto thought. Jiraiya for his part laughed hard at Naruto's fish face and explained about the art of seals and its uses. He stopped short, though, when he heard a voice echoing in the shadows.

"It's been a long time Jiraiya-san, I've received your messenger hawk" – Said the voice, but Naruto couldn't find the person's location, since the voice was simply all around. Suddenly, an old but imposing figure appeared holding a simple wooden staff. Gray hair just like Jiraiya, but short, Soujiro was just as big as the Sannin, Naruto wondered.

"It's good to see you too Soujiro-san, I see that time has been kind to you my friend" – Smiled Jiraiya, earning a snort from Soujiro. It was common fact at least for Jiraiya, that just like Orochimaru; Soujiro didn't appreciate the consequences of getting old.

"I wouldn't go to the same trouble as Orochimaru to cheat death, but I can't help but agree with him that getting old is such a drag" – Said Soujiro, earning laughter from Jiraiya.

While the elders were talking and remembering the good old days, Naruto was left standing next to Jiraiya as he seized the man upside down. Normally, the blond would conclude by saying that he didn't look like much, but that would be his old self thinking. Naruto had enough experience as a shinobi now to never interpret what it looks like, instead of seeing the underneath the underneath. It actually took a little while for them to stop the conversation, but instead of greeting Naruto, Soujiro just turned his back to them and signaled them to follow him. After a couple of steps, Soujiro turned and began a sequence of hand seals which Naruto wondered about the similarity with Jiraiya's sequence from before. Afterwards, he slammed both hands on the ground and the landscape suddenly shifted, until Naruto couldn't see either the desert or the path behind.

Jiraiya looked at his student with a smile on his face.

"Soujiro happens to be extremely cautious, even after retirement, it seems. With Fuinjutsu, he can hide his house so that no one can see where it is. Also, as you can see, this house doesn't belong to the usual terrain, meaning we just jumped to another dimension where the house is located" - Explained Jiraiya, before waiting to see Naruto screaming like crazy at the implications of what was said.

"WHAHHHAT!!!! How the hell are we in another dimension?" - Shouted Naruto, before Soujiro began to speak on Jiraiya's behalf.

"Jiraiya-san said you're loud, but I thought he was joking. Well, to answer your question, it would require explaining quite a lot of theory regarding Fuinjutsu and with the amount of experience you have now, it would be impossible for me to explain it to you and also impossible for you to fully understand. The reason why I brought you here is twofold. First, you have powerful enemies that are tracking you as we speak and second, it will benefit your training in Fuuton Ninjutsu. Now, come inside and we'll get to talk about how we will spend the next four months" - Said Soujiro as he turned once again to the house and stepped forward with Naruto and Jiraiya close behind.

Once inside, all three of them went to a room that had a huge library of scrolls and a table in the middle for studies. Soujiro took one of the chairs and ushered his guests to do the same as he grabbed a strange object. To Naruto, it looked like simple disk shape made of glass, but for the most experienced, this was a special piece of glass.

"Naruto, I happen to know from Jiraiya that you possess a wind affinity. However, while it's rare in your country, it isn't in Wind Country. As a matter of speaking, our studies with wind jutsus have been carried out since the Shodaime Kazekage's era many years ago. I'll be explaining everything I know about the art, but first we need to know how strong is your affinity towards wind jutsus" - Said Soujiro, this time earning looks of surprise by Jiraiya not only Naruto.

Soujiro was expecting this, so he smiled and proceeded to explain.

"This object, as you know Jiraiya, is what Suna uses to find their ninja's affinities. However, for those who possesses affinity for wind, we also have a specific object that indicated how strong is said affinity" - Explained Soujiro, earning a nod from Jiraiya and Naruto, before the man continued to explain. "The method is quite simple, Naruto only needs to focus chakra on the disk and it will be cut multiple times. The key to knowing how strong is his affinity is the numbers of cuts on the disk. Try Naruto, let's see how strong is your affinity" - Said Soujiro as he handed the disk to Naruto.

Naruto, then, extended his hand and placed the disk on top of it, before he began to focus his chakra. Quickly, Naruto focused the necessary chakra and was surprised to see that the disk was being sliced many times.

_Five..._

_Fifteen..._

_Twenty...._

Twenty-Five cuts total. Naruto was confused, since he didn't know if that was good or bad. Also, the look of surprise that Soujiro expressed on his face didn't tell much. Naruto could possess the strongest affinity yet or the worst. The man, though, cleared his throat and looked at Naruto while smiling.

"That's an odd number for someone with your experience. Most Jounin in Suna could only cut fifteen times and they were already trained in the art. Jiraiya, are you sure he's from Konoha?" - Asked Soujiro, before seeing a nod from the pervert, before he continued. "Well, then, it seems you'll be able to grasp pretty much everything that is to be taught regarding Fuuton Ninjutsu.

Now, your training will begin tomorrow, since I have yet to prepare the material necessary. So, I'll be showing you to your respective rooms and prepare some dinner for us" - Said Soujiro, before rising from his chair and leaving the room, followed closely by Naruto and Jiraiya.

After Soujiro guided Naruto to his room, he went with Jiraiya to his room, but not without taking the opportunity to talk to the pervert. Jiraiya knew that Naruto's numbers were above average and he also knew that Soujiro was beyond impressed. The man was smart, Jiraiya knew.

"Now that Naruto is not here, I'd like to express my surprise concerning the results" - Said Soujiro, earning a nod from Jiraiya who smiled as he was listening to his friend. "While I said that Jounin are only able to cut fifteen times, I didn't say that he surpassed the Nidaime Kazekage, who until now detained the record for most cuts. Who is he, Jiraiya? How is this possible?" - Asked Soujiro, but Jiraiya was too stunned to even answer.

Naruto having more potential than a Kage level ninja was surprising enough, but surpassing the Nidaime Kazekage, who was known as **Suna's Kaze Tenshu** (Wind God) was beyond anything he ever thought possible.

"I'm just as stunned as you are, actually. Naruto indeed held great promise in the future, but I never thought he could surpass a Kage in elemental manipulation, at least not for a good ten years. And thinking about it, this number can increase after he masters the element, am I right?" - Asked Jiraiya, earning a nod from Soujiro who couldn't help but smile upon finding such a prodigy to pass his teachings to.

"I want to know more about him, Jiraiya. Tell me all his abilities so far and his accomplishments" – Said Soujiro, earning a nod from Jiraiya, who then invited Soujiro for a cup of tea for their upcoming conversation.

After Soujiro made up some tea, Jiraiya began to tell everything about Naruto. He told about the boy's skills up to now, involving, of course, his uncanny ability to learn things faster with the Kage Bunshin technique. He told about Naruto's first C ranked mission, where he along with his team faced an A ranked missing-nin from Mist, to which Soujiro was surprised to hear that was that time that Naruto learned the true power of the Kyuubi no Yoko. He also came to hear about the time of the Suna/Sound invasion, that Naruto managed to save Konoha by beating Shukaku the one-tailed Jinchuuriki.

"That was the only time I thanked the heavens that I was already retired, unless I would be dragged to this mess. At the time, Orochimaru lured Suna to attack Konoha, taking advantage that the Wind Daimyou was choosing Konoha for his missions. So, Naruto managed to beat the Yondaime Kazekage's son while possessed by Shikaku. What else?" – Smiled Soujiro since he envisioned the next four months and the times Naruto will surpass every expectations set before him.

"There are many more accomplishments to tell you about; his team was responsible for freeing Snow Country and Takigakure from being taken by missing-nins once. I assure you Soujiro, the brat will surprise you a lot. He may not get it right away, but after practice, he will learn it faster than anybody else. The people in Konoha has much faith in his abilities in the future to come" – Said Jiraiya to which Soujiro nodded, before saying that he now needed to prepare Naruto's training for the upcoming four months.

Jiraiya nodded and went back to his room to take a quick nap. Due to escaping from Akatsuki's clutches, Jiraiya and Naruto weren't able to stay much time resting, being on constant move. Now that they would be safe for the upcoming four months, he could finally rest.

Later, when dinner was ready, Naruto and Soujiro began to talk about some light subjects. Naruto learned that Soujiro wasn't very fond of talking shinobi while eating so he kept the million questions he had in his mind to himself at least until tomorrow. Naruto confessed to both Jiraiya and Soujiro that he never thought about having a hobby, since all he did during his life was to train and eat ramen, however Naruto couldn't help but be amazed at some different subjects that Jiraiya and Soujiro were discussing about. Their subjects began from a few jokes about the past to intellectual discussions about both the Fire and Wind Daimyou's lives and their respective decisions concerning specific toppings.

Eventually, the conversation was over and all of them went to their respective rooms to sleep. Naruto, though, could admit that he didn't understand half the words that were being discussed. Nevertheless, he felted kind of relieved of getting to relax from the ninja training and it was a weird sensation for the blond. Thinking about other subjects apart from shinobi related, was a strange concept for Naruto and suddenly the word Hokage appeared in his mind.

As he turned on the water for a quick shower, Naruto was trying to associate the Daimyou figure of a big country like Konoha with the Hokage. Certainly, one being the ruler of the country and the other being the ruler of a hidden village; however if the Daimyou rules the whole country, then the Daimyou rules Konoha as well. All these thoughts were in Naruto's head at the moment and he couldn't figure the answer to this questions. Getting out of the shower, he got in some light sleeping clothes (not that horrible pajamas that he wore in the series) and went to a very comfortable bed. Introduction to politics was something the ninja academy actually covered, but Naruto never really paid much attention to the subject, even if the teacher, at the time, wouldn't explain it in terms he could understand, for Naruto everything not connected to the shinobi way of life, didn't pick his interest much.

However, now the doubt about who has more authority in Konoha did plague his mind a bit. Naruto knew that Konoha provided services for Fire Country, since the Fire Daimyou would request a vast majority of missions to be held by the village. But, could the Hokage say no to the Daimyou without consequences? The blond was getting impatient with not knowing the answers to these questions, so he instead closed his eyes and tried not to think about it so much.

* * *

**===the next day===**

Rising up early, Naruto was already at the kitchen making some breakfast when Jiraiya showed up yawning from the nice sleep he had in ages.

"It seems you're eager to begin training as always Naruto" – Smiled Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto who settled a glass of orange juice to the pervert who in turn accepted eagerly.

"Ero-sensei, I was remembering your discussion with Soujiro-sensei yesterday about politics and I was wondering about something" – Said Naruto, earning Jiraiya's attention. At first, Jiraiya thought he was still sleeping as he blinked a couple of times in front of the blond. It wasn't just because of the subject; it was just because Naruto expressed interest in something else besides training as a shinobi. He issued Naruto to come forward with his doubt.

"Well, I was thinking about the Daimyou and the Hokage position. I know that the Hokage is the ruler of the Hidden Village, but since the village is located within Fire territory, then the Hokage answers to the Daimyou, correct?" – Asked Naruto to which Jiraiya nodded, before the blond continued. "My question is can the Hokage choose to not to respond or would have to abide by the Daimyou's wishes?" – Asked Naruto, before seeing Jiraiya smile.

"You're correct. Indeed, the Hokage must answer to the Daimyou, however the Daimyou has no saying in how the Hokage rules Konoha. Although, this doesn't mean that the Hokage is completely independent from the Daimyou. You don't know this, but the Daimyou has access to all of Konoha's legal documentation and shinobi records. Also, there are certain decisions that a Hokage alone can't choose, like the Kage position itself. When a Hokage steps down, it's up to the Daimyou to choose a worthy candidate for the position, who, then, will be submitted to the Village's Jounin council for the final decision." – Explained Jiraiya, before seeing Naruto crack his brain for a while, before smiling in understanding. "I didn't know you'd be interested in politics, Naruto" – Said Jiraiya.

"Well, it's not that it perked my interest, it was just a doubt of my own. I think all this information was covered at the academy, I just didn't pay attention that much, thanks for explaining it to me Ero-sensei" – Smiled Naruto, earning a nod from Jiraiya, before he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Ah I see you two are already up. Good, I actually thought I would have to wake you all up using some methods of my own, but that won't be necessary, now Naruto, after we finish breakfast, I'll explain to you our schedule for your training. During your stay here, you'll learn everything there is to know about wind manipulation and when I say everything, I mean it just that. I have with me over 50 years of study in the art, gathered in one major scroll which will be your friend for the duration of your stay here. This will involve not only practical exercises, but mental as well, since learning to control the wind requires knowledge and above all, patience" – Said Soujiro, before grabbing a glass to fill it with orange juice as well as some cereal in the fridge.

Naruto for his part managed to see how enthusiastic Soujiro was and couldn't help but smile in retrospect to what the man said about his training.

Once Soujiro finished his breakfast, he got up and ushered both Naruto and Jiraiya to follow him outside when they would be commence. They walked for a while, until Soujiro stopped and turned to set his gaze on his new student.

"Now, this will be your training ground for the duration of your training" – Said Soujiro as he motioned the youngster to look around a bit. The scenario was interesting, Naruto wondered. Lots and lots of trees filled the area, but somehow it was different than an actual forest and a small like with a waterfall to his left. Naruto couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful scenery set before him. The water falling in contrast with the sunlight was an astonishing sight to behold. After some time wandering his eyes around, Naruto smiled and fixed eye contact with his new sensei.

"You have a nice home, Soujiro-sensei; I could just stare at the waterfall for months on end" – Smiled Naruto, earning a nod from Soujiro, followed by a smile as he turned to understand what Naruto sees in it.

"I suppose so, I've been living here for fifteen years now, but it's a sight to behold, indeed. Now, I'll explain you what we'll be doing and as I said before, I'll teach you everything I know. As you know or do not know, Fuuton Ninjutsu is, to me, the deadliest element in Ninjutsu. Although its chakra consuming, a wind user is feared throughout the elemental nations, simply because you can use it in close, mid and long range fighting. No affinity covers as much as wind. Now, Fuuton divides itself in three subcategories, and you'll learn them all. First one of them is the wind itself. By using chakra, you can focus on increasing the power of the wind; assemble hurricanes and even creating strong gusts of wind capable of tearing out trees from the ground with a simple blow. The second one is the wind's slice ability, this type of power is most used with swords as it elongates the metal and also strength them to fight. Last, but not least, is air pressure control. The last one is the most advanced form of wind manipulation and sadly to say, I can't teach you much further than the very basic. Up to now, only one jutsu was created by air pressure manipulation" – Explained Soujiro, before was interrupted by Naruto.

"Soujiro-sensei, may I ask why the third type is frowned upon? I believe it would be an advantage to control such element" – Asked Naruto, while crossing his arms, but this time Jiraiya took the liberty to explain.

"Air pressure manipulation requires too much chakra and too much concentration to be used properly, and in the midst of battle, the enemy wouldn't wait for you to do that. There were those who lost their lives in battle because of using a skill they weren't familiarized with. As I understand, you'll be learning the first and second abilities of Fuuton Ninjutsu and leave the third one for last" – Said Jiraiya, looking at Soujiro for confirmation.

"Indeed, he will. First, though, is imperative that you learn how to use Fuuton chakra and then we'll progress to a most advanced study of the art. Physical training will be held in daylight and when the sun goes out, we'll head back to read some material about Fuuton Ninjutsu and its many uses; any questions?" – Asked Soujiro, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Yes, uh…I know that Fuuton is an offensive affinity, but can we use wind for defensive purposes?" – Asked Naruto to which Soujiro smiled.

"Just like every affinity, Fuuton have both offensive and defensive capabilities. Of course, wind is more suited for offense, but it's also used to defend. I happen to know some techniques that serve for protection. Speaking of techniques, they'll serve as objectives to this training. They are ten techniques I'll teach you during these four months. Of course, they are plenty other techniques, but I choose these for you to learn each one of the wind's capabilities. I'll reveal them as you progress in your training. Your schedule will be divided in four. The first month will be to teach you how to use Fuuton chakra how it's supposed to be; the next three months will be to teach you the three capabilities of Fuuton that we discussed before, how is that?" – Asked Soujiro with a smile on his face as he could almost feel Naruto's excitement.

"Now, Jiraiya here told me about how you use the clone technique to practice faster, so we'll take advantage of it and learn the first aspects of Fuuton manipulation. You see, that tree over there" – Pointed Soujiro, before seeing Naruto turn to meet the tree that his sensei was pointing. Soujiro grabbed a lowly leaf from the ground and ushered Naruto to look as he explained. "One of the many aspects of Fuuton Ninjutsu is to slice objects using only chakra" – Said Soujiro as he focused some chakra in his hand and showed the leaf being sliced in two before Naruto's very eye.

"You are to use as many Kage Bunshin and each practice this. At the end of the day, I want to see all these leaves sliced in two" – Ordered Soujiro, before seeing the blond make the hand signal for the technique. Instantly, a large group of Narutos appeared before Jiraiya and Soujiro, before each grabbing a leaf to practice, thus leaving the tree without a single leaf. Soujiro was astonished by the number, but when he looked at Jiraiya and saw that the perverted wasn't showing any signs of being surprised, Soujiro just waved it off and watched the clones attempting to slice the leaf.

"So, how long do you think he'll take?" – Asked Soujiro, before he heard a small snort from Jiraiya.

"Hard to say, really; this technique of his reduces time to large amounts. He won't need the whole day, though, that I can assure you" – Said Jiraiya, though in his mind, he had a conviction that Naruto would need close to an hour or two until one of the leaves is sliced. Throughout the training, Jiraiya would actually count how much time Naruto needed to fully grasp a technique and even if the boy didn't focus so much in Ninjutsu techniques, aside from the ones he already knew of course, Jiraiya was positive that with this amount of clones, it wouldn't take long for the blond to scream the technique's completion with the same enthusiasm that Gai shows when he wins a challenge against Kakashi.

Speaking of the blond, there he was in the middle of his doppelgangers focusing on slicing the leaf in two, however to no avail. Nevertheless, Naruto focused on the prime objective that was leaving this place with a considerable concept of what it means to be a true master of his affinity. The blond understood the concept behind the Kage Bunshin method of training, so he knew that the training that he will be subjected to under Soujiro would, in normal circumstances, take years to accomplish. However, now was not the time to think of what didn't happen yet, he knew that eventually he will have to focus in other subjects, but right now his objective was for everyone of his clones slice the leaf in two, which meant that by the time, they are done, the real Naruto will accumulate all their experience with this exercise.

Two hours passed and the Narutos kept on going non-stop with the intention of completing the exercise. Soujiro questioned Jiraiya about the boy's chakra capacity and wondered how could he sustain the Bunshins and work on the technique as well. The response, although unexpected, didn't surprise Naruto's new sensei. Soujiro already knew that with Naruto, a lot of surprises would come and that he shouldn't wonder the reason behind it any more. So when Jiraiya said that Naruto already had more chakra than a high elite Jounin, Soujiro whistled, but otherwise didn't show any surprise to Jiraiya. However, all those thoughts of not being surprised any longer with the blond disappeared when he heard the distinguished sound of leafs being sliced and turned to the clones. The sounds of leafs being cut was like a weapon shooting bullets repeatedly without needing to reload.

"Well, I guess I was right, he didn't need the whole day, you might as well introduce him to the next step of the training, before the sun goes down" – Advised Jiraiya, still finding amused to see Soujiro's stunned face upon seeing Naruto finishing the exercise in close to two hours.

"He has one month to train on the fundaments of wind manipulation Jiraiya, also we're not in a hurry here, so I don't see a need for him to waste chakra and fail to absorb the theory later tonight" – Explained Soujiro, before seeing Jiraiya nod in understanding. Suddenly, the clones vanished and Naruto appeared in front of the two elders, with a clearly happy expression on his face, which in turn made Soujiro smile in return. _The boy sure has stamina, I guess he could've gone longer today, but for today is alright, he'll have plenty of time to practice._

"I can see you're happy Naruto, but I wonder if you'll remain smiling once this training is over. Now, you'll finalize today's training with some physical workout. Jiraiya said that you're practicing with the bo-staff, so practice some of the katas and then come back inside" – Ordered Soujiro, before seeing Naruto nodding with enthusiasm and remove a scroll from his holster in order to summon his new weapon. Immediately, the blond closed his eyes in order to remember the many katas that were being drilled in his mind from practice as he was twirling the not so light staff with both hands. When he opened his eyes, Naruto focused his attention of imaginary opponents coming at him and began the dance. He began by thrusting it forward before grabbing at the end of the staff more maximum reach, before recovering and jumping to land a roundhouse kick at the incoming opponent who tried to attack him with a well-aimed punch to his face. Seeing two other attackers coming from the right, Naruto prepared defensive maneuvers for the imaginary swords that were constantly attacking the blond in rapid succession. Naruto, then, used the other end of the staff and managed to hit one of the attackers on the shoulder before twirling the staff once more and landing a strike on the man's chin by using the staff to balance himself in the air while he used his foot right on target.

The blond practiced a while longer until fatigue reached him. He entered the house and went for a quick shower before feeling the sudden impulse to list some curse words to his new sensei. Right there on the table, was located a pile of books and scrolls that no doubt were meant for him to read them. Even though the blond found reason to start reading books on shinobi matters, he wasn't entirely happy upon seeing a pile of books and scrolls to read. Suddenly, Soujiro appeared and smiled at the chance of getting back at him for surprising him a couple of times.

"Now, Naruto like I told you before, at night you'll be studying the theory behind wind manipulation. Like all ninja art, beyond training, Fuuton Ninjutsu requires patience and knowledge, which is why after dinner; you'll be reading these books and scrolls here. The books contain the general theory where as the scrolls represents the jutsus you will be learning throughout your time here; do you have any questions?" – Asked Soujiro.

"Actually, yes I was thinking about the leaf training exercise. I remembered reading about two necessary exercises to initiate in wind manipulation, what is the next one?" - Asked Naruto, earning a nod in understanding from Soujiro.

"The next one will be attempted tomorrow, but I see no ill in explaining to you right now so then you can prepare yourself for the task. You remember the waterfall outside don't you?" – Asked Soujiro, before Naruto nodded and he continued. "Well basically, you'll be doing the same thing with the leaves, except now you'll have to cut a waterfall in half" – Explained Soujiro, only waiting for the same outburst almost everyone makes upon hearing the exercise, which much to his delight, came.

"How the hell am I going to cut a waterfall? This is ridiculous. How can I slice the water?" – Asked Naruto, earning yet another nod from Soujiro, but instead of answering right away, he thought of giving a homework assignment for Naruto.

"That will be your job to figure out for tomorrow. You see ,in one of the books, lies the answer you're looking for and it will be your assignment to find the information and explain it to me" – Assigned Soujiro, before seeing Naruto frown and then went to the kitchen for dinner without even looking at Soujiro's face, earning a slight laugh from the elder shinobi who in turn understood why Jiraiya said it was fun to teach this brat.

* * *

**===the next day===**

The next morning, the same ritual happened once more. Breakfast and waiting for his sensei to arrive for the next part of the training. Naruto understood from the books he stayed up all night reading, the secret behind slicing the waterfall. The truth was that Naruto would draw a line using Fuuton Ninjutsu, cutting the current water from falling entirely, keeping the first half up the line with his chakra. The other half would fall freely, because it isn't being sustained by Naruto's chakra.

Suddenly, Naruto heard steps coming from the steps and saw his new sensei. Naruto found it strange that Jiraiya was spending a lot of time in his room resting, but he stopped thinking once Soujiro asked him the question, to which Naruto responded.

"Indeed, wind chakra can slice everything, even water for a couple of seconds. By using wind chakra, you can slice the water particles, which in the waterfall case, the first half will remain suspended and the bottom half will let gravity run its course. Very good, now the theory is resolved, but we are still short of practicing it to see how you fair against the waterfall. This waterfall happens to have somewhat of a bridge right in front of the falling water, so you won't have problems with finding a spot, now finish your breakfast and we'll begin right away" – Said Soujiro, earning a nod from Naruto.

A few minutes afterwards, Naruto and Soujiro were standing right in front of the waterfall. The day wasn't sunny like yesterday; in fact it was a bit cloudy with the prospect of rain later on.

"This exercise is the same principle as the leaf slice exercise, but now you'll amplify the area and cut the entire waterfall. By completing this exercise, you'll fit all the requirements needed for the first techniques I plan to teach you. However, that won't happen until you learn to be proficient in using the standard wind abilities in the midst of a physical exercise. In order to learn wind techniques, you must learn how to use them adequately. Wind techniques require concentration and patience, so you can't do it while you're either not focused on the fight or in the middle of defending from an attack. Now, use the bridge there and create as many Kage Bunshin you feel necessary to be able to slice the waterfall in half" – Said Soujiro, before turning his back on Naruto and proceeded to walk back home.

Naruto remained watching his sensei and actually wondered why the man wouldn't be around to see his progress on the exercise. From what he read, the waterfall exercise takes a long time to complete. Doesn't matter, though; Naruto thought.

_Like all obstacles set before me in the past, I'll overcome this as well…Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu _- Thought Naruto as the clones immediately vanished and appeared on top of the waterfall, before extending both hands and begin the exercise.

* * *

**===With ****Jiraiya===**

Dressing in only a light blue kimono, Jiraiya was sure taking his time to rest and enjoy the time in Soujiro's home. He knew that the man would be taking care of Naruto's training, so he could rest all the time he wanted without worrying about Naruto being alone to train. Thinking of the blond since they left Konoha really brought a smile on his face. Never before he saw such enthusiasm and drive to improve from someone and Jiraiya was sure that Naruto would return to the village quite strong. He would even be amused upon wondering a fight between Kakashi and Naruto by the time he returned from the journey.

Jiraiya was looking outside from the window only to see that it had starting raining when suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned, though, he was confused to see only Soujiro standing there, before he kneeled on the ground and fixed some sake for him as well.

"Where is Naruto?" – Asked Jiraiya displaying a serious face like he knew what the man did.

"He is training at the waterfall. Don't worry about the boy, Jiraiya. He is old enough to learn that sometimes, you have to improve on your own; he can't depend on others to train his whole life" – Said Soujiro as he drank all the sake left in the cup, before pouring out so more. Jiraiya, however, snorted at the man from insinuating that Jiraiya lifted a finger to aid in Naruto's training.

"You're wrong Soujiro if you think I helped him train. If much, I taught him two jutsus and how to counter Genjutsu. The rest it was all him. He was the one who perfected the Rasengan with one hand and learned to amplify it; he managed to learn on his own three very useful attack jutsus and even mastered a Taijutsu style on his own. The bo-staff katas, he learned by reading the scroll containing the movements. You don't need to worry about him learning how to improve his abilities on his own; he knows that already" – Explained Jiraiya as he got up and left Soujiro who in turn smiled and looked outside at the rain.

Jiraiya grabbed an umbrella and went outside to see his prodigy. The Sannin didn't know how long Naruto was trying the exercise, but he damn well know Naruto wouldn't be able to do it right away, no matter how much he improved his skills. Truth to his wonders, upon arriving, he saw Naruto and his clones attempting to slice the whole waterfall, instead all each Naruto could do was throw water to each respective faces, not managing much. The boy was persistent, though and wouldn't give up so soon. Also, there was something in this drive of his that amazed Jiraiya. Even though there were quite some distance between the two, Jiraiya could very well see the look of pure concentration that Naruto displayed upon attempting the exercise.

_You can do this Naruto. Slice this waterfall in half and you'll proceed in this training. – _Thought Jiraiya as he stood there while resting the umbrella on his shoulders.

* * *

**===Five hours later===**

After a minor rest followed by a soldier pill, Naruto continued once again. His clones were half way there and the waterfall was already showing signs of being slice any minute now. This was the time that Soujiro appeared next to Jiraiya. The rain already stopped and the blond could now focus more on the task at hand.

"How much time do you think he will take to complete?" – Asked Soujiro, before seeing Jiraiya smile.

"Just about now, I'm afraid. The Waterfall is already on the verge of slicing. The next one will do it" – Said Jiraiya. Suddenly, his guess turned out to be right as the noise of the waterfall slicing in half with wind chakra echoed through the clearing. After the clones dissipated, Naruto remained looking at the waterfall, as in looking at his accomplishment in Fuuton Ninjutsu. When he turned, he saw both Soujiro and Jiraiya looking at him from the ground, so he used a Shunshin and appeared right in front of the elders.

"Congrats Naruto, in only two days, you managed to complete the two steps necessary to begin the real training. Now, I can see that you're exhausted so let's back home to take a shower and then I'll show the jutsus you'll be learning from me" – Said Soujiro, earning a nod from Naruto, who then looked at Jiraiya who in turn was smiling in acknowledgement. Naruto didn't need to ask, because he knew that look on Jiraiya's face and he only showed once Naruto managed to complete an exercise.

* * *

**===Later at night===**

After a nice shower and an amazing dinner, in Naruto's mind, the blond and Soujiro were now reading one big scroll that contained all the techniques Naruto would learn in three months. Although he wouldn't practice it for a considerable time, Soujiro advised Naruto to understand each technique's theory before attempting to perform them. The list of jutsus covered all three forms of wind manipulations and the scroll contained wide details of the techniques, informing the hand seals, chakra capacity necessary, jutsu level and, of course, how to perform. Naruto saw the jutsu titles and couldn't contain his smile to go from ear to ear:

_**Fuuton Daitoppa (**__Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu) _

_**Fuuton Suidou no Tatsumaki **__(Wind Release: Tornado Tunnel Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Kaze no Tate **__(Wind Release: Wind Shield Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Reppushou**__ (Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Kaze no Yaiba **__(Wind Release: Wind Sword Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Kazekiri **__(Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Suraisu no Tatsumaki **__(Wind Release: Slicing Tornado Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Kaiten Shuriken (**__Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Juuyouseigun**__ (Wind Release: Gravity Force Jutsu)_

_**Fuuton Atsugai **__(Wind Release: Pressure Damage Jutsu)_

**  
**Immediately, Naruto proceeded to read the first technique with confidence that he would learn everything that he needed to, in order to master all these techniques in three months.

* * *

_**AN: Ok, that's enough for this chapter. **_

_**I first intended to cover all of Naruto's wind training in this chapter, but in the end I thought against it. Next chapter will show the end of the four months and Naruto fighting against Soujiro while using the techniques he will learn along with his weapon of choice. Also, a major event will occur next chapter and I can say for sure that all the readers know what it is. I won't ruin the surprise so soon, though. I'll leave it to your imagination.**_


	7. Anbu Rescue

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* * *

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**Chapter ****7 – Anbu Rescue**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Being located near the desert, the sun was scorching hot and the sound of the waterfall falling on the small river would send anyone to eternal bliss at the thought of escaping the hot temperature, hence why one pervert was seen with only his belly on top of the water level, like he was on one hell of a vacation. He was hoping to enjoy every single moment of the last couple of days he had, before he and Naruto had to leave the place.

Thinking hard, Jiraya couldn't figure out the next step of Naruto's training. A year and a half already passed and Naruto managed to learn quite a lot. His taijutsu skills were propelled, baring, easily, the skills of a high level chunnin. Naruto even managed to create a new taijutsu style that relies heavily on wind element, which surprised both Soujiro and Jiraya at the time. Also he improved his bo-staff style a lot, to which Jiraya himself reasoned him to be on par with a chunnin from the Sarutobi Clan and maybe, rival a jounin at the end of their journey. Also, the boy's chakra related training progressed nicely with him being almost immune to genjutsu attacks and just added close to ten fuuton jutsus on his repertoire. Jiraya chuckled upon remembering Naruto's new temporary sensei gasping at the speed in which Naruto learned the jutsus and the man really thought the blond to be a genius. However, that was only possible because of the blond's kage bunshin style of training.

The question remained, though, about the next step. Jiraya had a couple of choices to teach Naruto about, which was introducing him to the art of fuuinjutsu (sealing arts) or even teach the brat a new element to rely on, in case his wind jutsus weren't enough to subdue the enemy. Fuuinjutsu is the hardest ninja art to master and he doubted Naruto would be interested in seals, rather than simple exploding tags and storage seals, so he pushed it aside, focusing on more ninjutsu.

Now the question was which element to teach?

He immediately left out katon simply because of his prime affinity being wind. It wouldn't make sense for Naruto to learn two heavily offensive affinities and leave the defense side unprotected. Also thinking about it, Raiton wouldn't be considered either. So that left the sannin with doton and suiton ninjutsu for Naruto to learn for defensive issues. Doton would be his first choice since it is Jiraya's prime affinity, but he also has knowledge on suiton techniques and how to learn them, plus with Naruto having fuuton at his disposal, suiton elemental ninjutsu could be very useful. Plus, the brat was still fifteen and he could very well be learning how to use doton techniques in the future.

Suddenly, he saw what appeared to be a shift in the wind before he looked at the waterfall only for it to be sliced in a diagonal sense, probably a result of the wind sword technique. He, then, turned his eyes to the opposite side of the waterfall before smirking as Naruto and Soujiro were engaging in a full-out spar. Whether or not, Soujiro was going all out he didn't know but for Naruto to manage his own against this man was nothing short of impressive.

Naruto was using his Bo-staff while defending from Soujiro's quick and deadly blows, before performing a major back-flip just as Soujiro was about to land a vicious kick on his head. While making hand seals in the air, Naruto, then, collected air through his lungs for _**Fuuton Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu_). Soujiro smiled at the kid's ingenuity, but focused chakra to his feet so as not to be taken away by the wind. After the wind died down, Soujiro unleashed some shurikens, before throwing them in the air and making some hand seals for _**Fuuton Kaiten Shuriken **(Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken Jutsu_).

Upon seeing this, Naruto immediately was sent on edge seeing that controlling shurikens was a very deadly technique to face. However, he didn't need to wait as suddenly, Soujiro stopped swirling the shurikens near him and sent them all to attack Naruto at the same time. Seeing no other way to escape the technique's grasp, Naruto increased the speed of four-sequence hand seals and once again exhaled a small gust of air, before controlling the wind chakra to surround him.

_**Fuuton Kaze no Tate **(Wind Release: Wind Shield Jutsu)_

After the defense dropped, Naruto saw that the shurikens were nowhere in sight, so he rushed to attack Soujiro before he had the opportunity to control other shurikens. He quickly focused chakra to his bo-staff to elongate the weapon and began the assault against Soujiro with a new kata he devised. It consisted of a six-combo hit with the usage of the Kage Bunshin technique. Holding the Bo-staff with his both hands on Soujiro's chest area, he initiated by hitting the man on his right side, thus making Soujiro lose his air for a second, before Naruto hit him on the left side, thus increasing the pain. Seeing that the man was incapacitated, Naruto then attacked the man's legs with a powerful thrust, before swirling the staff and hitting him on the shoulder. Afterwards, Soujiro managed, beyond the pain of being hit with Naruto's staff, to see that Naruto landed the staff on the ground, before resorting on it for balance as he landed an uppercut kick right on the man's chin, sending him flying straight to the air where a new Naruto was waiting with a sequence of kicks, before landing one on the man's head, thus sending him straight down to suffer the immeasurable pain in agony.

Or so he would have, if the Soujiro he attacked was not a Kage Bunshin as well.

As soon as the smoke dissipated, Naruto heard claps coming from behind him and he turned to see his fuuton sensei who in turn was demonstrating an approving smile on his own, considering that Naruto displayed some serious skills.

"Very impressive Naruto-kun; that clone of mine took some serious hit; it took a heavy load of my chakra to keep him from vanishing throughout that sequence of yours. I'd correct to assume it's one of your creations?" – Asked Soujiro to which Naruto nodded, before focusing chakra once more on the staff to shorten its handle for the blond to place it inside its holster.

"Yes it is Soujiro-sensei. The original one doesn't involve the kage bunshin and it ends on the fourth hit aiming the shoulder. So, now what am I going to learn?" – Asked Naruto, being all enthused, which earned a smile from his sensei in recognition.

"Actually Naruto, there isn't much I can teach you that you couldn't get on your own with time. You may not realize that you've been here for four months now and you've learned all three forms of fuuton manipulation" – Said Soujiro, before seeing Naruto's bewildered look of realization that his elemental training is over, but Soujiro wasn't far from being silent. "It's with satisfaction that I say you managed to complete the training regimen I set for you and for that, I believe congratulations are in order. Before you, only one ever managed to finish my training and that was the Yondaime Kazekage, may Kami has his hunger for power soul right now" – Smiled Soujiro.

"I appreciate all the training you gave me Soujiro-sensei and I hope to improve my skills to be on your level, or at least hope to cope better with it the next time we spar" – Smiled Naruto, gaining a nod in recognition from his sensei.

"Believe me Kid when I say you won't take long to reach my level. You have an advantage everyone would die for and that's your chakra abundance. By using the Kage bunshin experience, you could grow by leaps and bounds and probably become the best wind user in all of the elemental nations. I believe you, above protecting those precious to you, would like to set out a name for yourself, isn't it?" – Asked Soujiro, before he saw Naruto nod and he continued. "Then, you'll be indeed famous. Learning fuuton element is both time and chakra demanding, but anyone who masters the element is presumed to be feared. You remember reading about the tales of Kazekagure's Kage Tenshu, didn't you? He quoted that wind element is mostly known for its unpredictability, one minute it's blowing west and the other it's on the opposite direction. By being a master of the wind, you can become even more unpredictable than you already are Naruto and I feel very proud to be the one helping you become the next Kaze Tenshu" – Smiled Soujiro as he saw the beamed expression on Naruto's face.

"Arigato, sensei" – Said Naruto as he bowed in respect to his sensei, before he heard the voice of Jiraya approaching.

"Great, you stay with him for four months and bow to him in respect. You stay with me for the duration of our trip and you call me a pervert. What happened to the respect?" – Grumbled Jiraya, earning a warm laugh from Soujiro, but he soon would have to hold his stomach when Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

"Why would I call you any differently than what you are Ero-sensei? You even admit that you're a "super-pervert" – Said Naruto, earning a sigh in dismay from Jiraya as he saw Soujiro on the ground bending over, while holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

"Ok all jokes aside, Naruto since your training is over, I believe we overstated our welcome in Soujiro's house. Go pack your things and tomorrow we'll be leaving" – Said Jiraya, earning a nod from Naruto as he simply walked towards the mansion, thus leaving the two elders alone to talk.

"So, how many he got this time?" – Asked Jiraya, earning a smile from Soujiro as he showed what appeared to be the same disk used to test the strength of the wind affinity. Jiraya could very well note an increase in the number of cuts than last time.

"Thirty-two cuts total; simply amazing. No matter if he cheats time with the kage bunshin, he's a prodigy and you know it. I don't have to repeat myself more than two times when explaining the theory and he managed to achieve everything through practice. It's been an interesting last four months that I can say for sure" – Said Soujiro to which Jiraya smiled.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After leaving his senseis, Naruto walked calmly towards the mansion. The sun was just setting down and the beautiful orange hue on the sky practically forced a smile on his features. Adding the waterfall on the landscape, it was a picture to be forever kept in his mind. He kind of wished that he wouldn't have to leave so soon; Soujiro-sensei was strict in training, but Naruto could very well see that the man's is as strict as his own drive to be stronger. Also, being acknowledged by such a being was like a boost to Naruto's pride.

Nevertheless, he very well knew that for his sake and for Konoha, Naruto needed to become stronger and as such, he needed much more experience than he gathered since he started his career. He needed to fight against opponents who wouldn't think of holding back in case of an opening like either Soujiro or Jiraya does; he needed to have a better grasp of the idea of "Kill or Die" that every shinobi has to learn throughout his career and he couldn't learn it here.

After arriving at his room, Naruto collected a medium sized scroll, before opening to review a specific kanji. He, then, placed all his clothes on top of the scroll, including some books he earned from Soujiro to improve on fuuton ninjutsu, before focusing on a single handed seal. Immediately, when a bunch of clothes and books were, now the only thing visible was the same kanji now revolved around some new set of kanjis, meaning that this scroll was already full and therefore unable to use.

Just because Jiraya didn't think to teach him fuuinjutsu, doesn't mean he couldn't teach the very basic knowledge, like how to seal his personal belongings inside a scroll. The pervert thought about teaching how to create explosive tags, but then thought against it. After sealing everything inside the scroll, Naruto laid on his bed and looked at the window as the sun was vanishing little by little and it was almost getting dark outside. However, just as the moon appeared, the effects of the battle ran out and soon fatigue appeared. The boy didn't even hear Soujiro's shouts of calling him for some dinner.

* * *

**===the next day===**

Once everything was all set, Naruto and Jiraya set food outside Soujiro's house for the first time in four months. It felt a bit awkward for both Naruto and Jiraya to step in the other dimension and they had to take some time to adjust to this new feeling.

"Wow that was weird" – Said Naruto as he hold his head so that it would stop spinning, a sentiment shared by the pervert.

"You can say that again. Man I forgot about this rush of travelling dimensions. Now, let's get going Naruto. There is a village nearby about 10 miles that we can settle and then continue on our next destination" – Said Jiraya, earning a nod from Naruto as they started walking. Although he didn't say anything, though, Jiraya couldn't help but smile upon seeing the brat walking a proud smile on his features, before he saw that the blond was going to ask him something.

"So Ero-sensei, where are we going now and what will I be learning?" – Asked Naruto, earning a smile from Jiraya.

"Don't worry about that for now Naruto, after we settle in, we'll take a nice long bath at the onsen; you know, relax a little bit. I've noticed you didn't let your body heal from the heavy strain that Soujiro placed you in, so we're still overdue some relaxation period. Remember, we still have lots of time to learn more techniques and train more" – Explained Jiraya, to which Naruto nodded, while looking forward their destination.

"Soujiro-sensei was sure strict, but in the end, I really managed to learn ten new techniques that will surely prove useful in the future. I guess you're right, then. Let's relax a bit" – Said Naruto, before hearing the pervert snort upon hearing what he thought he did.

"Well, well, well, this is a first. Uzumaki Naruto just wanting to pass training for relaxing; the world is at an end, I can see it" – Dramatized Jiraya, before smiling in delight upon hearing Naruto grumbling some incoherent curse words aimed at his sensei.

What he could say, he just loved to tease with the brat.

It didn't take long until they arrived at the village and settled inside an inn which happened to have a vast public onsen for the two to rest their bodies, well in Naruto's case anyway. The pervert let out a sigh in relaxation as he let the hot water relax every muscle of his body, while hanging his arms outside the pool. He, then, looked at Naruto only to see that the blond was in deep thought once again.

Jiraya didn't like when Naruto did this and it was plainly obvious the reason. Upon being asked, Naruto would always show some level of doubt regarding the idea of relaxing while he could be training instead.

Actually, Jiraya feared that the boy would become too power-hungry and immediately set out to talk to the boy, like hearing the boy's thoughts on these troubling subjects.

"Naruto, tell me what's wrong? You don't seem to be so relaxed" – Asked Jiraya, before seeing Naruto taking a glimpse at the pervert from the corner of his eyes, before looking back to the water in dismay.

"Oh it's nothing really. I just wished that I would figure out what was wrong with me beforehand, than half the trouble Team 7 went through, wouldn't happen. I'm not saying I'm blaming myself for Sasuke's defection, that's his own doing, whether or not he was being subjected to the cursed seal's will. I could've covered more ground at the academy and probably learn every bit of the necessary information, thus leaving space for the more advanced material I should be reading for my age. Things like accuracy, politics, traps, basic taijutsu, basic genjutsu; all of them I've only managed to learn after the whole Sasuke's defection incident" – Said Naruto, while still looking down, clearly not letting go of his feeling of regret.

Jiraya for his turn at least had the decency to nod while believing that at least this time is different. However, the brat was delusional and he needed to hear a truth or two.

"Naruto, you better listen intently to what I'm going to say and you better throw that thought of yours away. Maybe, you should've paid more attention at school, maybe not. Anyway, what happened in the past is unchangeable and it won't matter to sulk on it. This feeling of regret you possess is out of line; you can't just hope that things were different in the past. What happened then must remain as such; what you must worry about is the present and the future. You're now managed to cover the entire elemental manipulation training in only four months where only jounin level ninja manages to truly master" – Explained Jiraya, before he saw Naruto looking at him, listening to what his mentor have to say. "Dwelling on the past will only cause you to be bitter and not trust-worthy. You want to change, then change for here on out, become the ninja of your dreams and we'll train harder to achieve that dream" – Said Jiraya, before smiling upon seeing Naruto smiling as well.

"One condition, though, brat; if you say this to me once more, you'll be riding on top of Gamabunta, until you learn it the right way" – Smiled Jiraya, which in turn earned a nod in acceptance from Naruto.

"Arigato, sensei" – Said Naruto, though shockingly as the situation seemed to Jiraya, he didn't say a word.

After an hour and a half, sensei and student were to get some dinner at the only restaurant in town, which made all types of food. Naruto and Jiraya ordered a sushi special combo that was actually enough for four people, but Naruto guaranteed the owner that he would even request more after it was over, which earned a chuckle from Jiraya.

"So, Ero-sensei, what's next?" – Asked Naruto, earning a nod from Jiraya, since Naruto managed not to do any kind of exercise today.

"Well, let's see. You managed in one year and a half cover taijutsu, bo-staff, genjutsu and fuuton ninjutsu. You already learned how to increase the rasengan and I expect you to keep improving with time. What's left basically, what I can teach you actually, is either the art of sealing called fuuinjutsu or a second ninjutsu element. Of course, you still need to train your fuuton techniques to get adjusted to them and learn how to use them in different scenarios, so we're going to take the remaining of this year for you to cover all these fighting scenarios. The last year will surely be spent with suiton manipulation" – Said Jiraya, earning a questioned look from Naruto.

"Why Suiton specifically? I know that katon and raiton are out of the picture, since they are heavy offensive elements, but what about doton manipulation?" – Asked Naruto, before seeing the sensei smile as the sushi dish was served along with some tea for the two.

"Indeed, out of the other elements, I was in doubt between suiton and doton. However, there is a new concept of ninjutsu nowadays called collaboration jutsus. It consists of two shinobis or, in the rarest cases, one shinobi, performing two techniques that merge with one another, creating a more powerful and more destructive technique. Now, there are certain elements susceptible for the collaboration jutsus. For example, by merging a Grand Fireball Technique with the Great Breakthrough Jutsu, the wind will double the fireball size. Fire jutsus are more suitable because they can merge with fuuton, doton and raiton, leaving suiton of course for obvious reasons. Suiton is the next best for collaboration jutsus, being able to merge with all three except katon for the same reasons, with me so far?" – Asked Jiraya, before seeing Naruto eat some sushi and nod for the pervert to continue. "Your prime affinity is wind and as such, you can use collaboration jutsus with only suiton, because wind nullifies lightning and it doesn't do anything with earth based techniques. In the end, if you were to learn collaboration jutsus, the only other element suitable for doing so would be suiton" – Explained Jiraya as he ingested a tuna sushi.

"I understand; however you said yourself that a collaboration jutsu needs two shinobis. How can I do it on my own?" – Asked Naruto, earning a nod from Jiraya, since he was expecting this question.

"Indeed, in theory, the collaboration jutsu are performed by two shinobis. However, you Naruto is one of those rare cases I mentioned before. You do remember how you used kage bunshin to train fuuton techniques, didn't you? Then, you do realize that you could use the collaboration jutsu with your own clone" – Said Jiraya, before he saw Naruto smile at a new attack possibility, but Jiraya wasn't finished. "Also, because of your wind affinity, your defensive ninjutsu is severely limited to only the Kaze no Tate technique. With suiton ninjutsu, you could learn more defensive techniques that could save your life as well as those you protect in the future. So, with all that explained, suiton is the best element to teach you right now, understood?" – Asked Jiraya to which Naruto nodded as he ingested the last sushi, before calling the waiter to bring in a new set of sushi to which Jiraya smiled and asked from some tea as well.

**

* * *

****===A couple miles away from their position===**

Pacing from trees at unimaginable speed and almost out of breath, Uzuki Yuugao was trying to escape the wrath of what appeared to be two shinobis from the Iwa Anbu forces called Boulder. Another one of her S ranked suicidal missions headed towards Iwa where Konoha found suspicious information about a powerful missing-nin threatening to border into Fire Country. She along with two other Anbus went to investigate only for a brutal assault to occur before the Anbu team managed to kill the missing-nin. Their price though was too high as two of Konoha Anbu was killed by the same Boulder Anbu who was supposed to kill the missing-nin. Now, although Yuugao was being chased for no reason, those boulder Anbus were maniacs and wouldn't stop at nothing to have a hold of her to kill her or even worse if one of them decides to have his way with her beforehand.

Along the way, she was dodging with the best of her abilities the incoming shurikens and mud balls. However, her chakra was almost entirely used against the missing-nin and she didn't have much to use for escape. Also, Konoha was too far away for her to even consider calling for backup. Her alternatives were wearing thin, before she views a small village with maybe ten or fifteen houses for her to hide. However, as soon as Yuugao changed her course of action, she cursed the heavens after one single mud ball hit her on her left leg and because of her immediate pain, she couldn't focus on landing on the next tree, thus following mercilessly on the ground with a heavy thud, before spitting some blood from her mouth.

Just as the ninjas landed near her, she knew her time was up. Her legs were heavily bruised because of the Doryuu Dango technique and a couple of ribs were broken because of the fall. Not to mention that she was almost out of chakra as she heard one of them talking about what she feared.

"You've been a very bad girl, you know? And bad girls deserve a punishment" – Laughed the one from the right, earning a snarl in anger from Yuugao who wanted to be killed already, not raped.

"Oh Matsuro, finish her off already. We have to get back to Iwa" – Said the other, but this Matsuro guy waved him off and kneeled down next to Yuugao before he removed the woman's mask. She could see from the guy's face that he enjoyed seeing her angered face and it was plainly obvious that he wouldn't be satisfied until he did the worst deeds to her body possible.

However, before Matsuro managed to take her pants off, everyone was stunned to hear some shouting _**Fuuton Reppushou **(Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm Jutsu_), before two focused jets of wind hit Matsuro head on, thus sending him straight towards his comrade, before both were sent flying. Yuugao was at loss of what just happened, before he saw what appeared to be a blond man jumping in front of her as in protecting her while facing the boulder Anbu. She, then, sensed a hand on her shoulder, before turning her face to see one of the sannin Jiraya.

"Jiraya-sama…what are you doing…here?" – Asked Yuugao, before Jiraya ushered her to save her strength.

"Easy there Anbu. I don't know your name, but right now we must get you into safety" – Said Jiraya, before he saw Naruto standing against the Anbu members.

"Ero-sensei, take her away from here, I'll take care of them" – Said Naruto as he started a large sequence of hand seals. Jiraya smiled at his student and took Yuugao with him back to the village, who by now was unconscious due to chakra exhaustion and utter pain on her legs and ribs. However, she stayed awake long enough to see the blond preparing for an attack.

"We're not letting that bitch go, you old geezer" – Charged Matsuro, until he looked at the blond in front of him finishing the hand sequence, before whispering the name to the winds.

_**Fuuton Suraisu no Tatsumaki **(Wind Release: Slicing Tornado Jutsu_)

Naruto exhaled a strong gust of wind through his mouth, before it transformed into a huge hurricane and charged against the Anbus who didn't have the time to evade because of the proximity and got hit dead on. Once inside the hurricanes, Matsuro and his partner began receiving multiple slashes from every side, while Naruto took the opportunity to follow Jiraya to their hotel, not even bothering to see that the ninjas's bodies were like chopped meat sprawled across the forest.

* * *

**===the next day===**

The next day, the weather wasn't as nice as the day before. It was raining heavily and Naruto was playing some shougi with Jiraya, while waiting for the woman to wake up. After placing her on a bed, Jiraya managed to contact a local doctor who helped cure Yuugao's wounds and even wrap the place where she broke her rips with bandages. Right after arriving at the hotel, Naruto questioned Jiraya about what happened to her, to which the sannin could only surmise it as a failed mission. Jiraya also mentioned that he communicated with Konoha about the female Anbu and received info regarding her status. Also, Naruto heard Jiraya talking about an order coming from the Hokage ordering the female Anbu to take a long vacation and to remain under Jiraya's care until he and Naruto returned from the training trip.

So, while watching the heavy rain outside, Naruto and Jiraya were playing shougi, unaware of the fact that Yuugao already recovered consciousness.

Slowly opening her eyes, her senses became to respond as she managed to hear the sound of rain outside. Immediately, she woke up alarmed fearing that she was captured only to look at an empty room, before she heard the same voice she heard yesterday.

"Ah it seems you woke up, we're worried you'd take a while to do that" – Said Jiraya, alerting Yuugao of both his and the blond's presence. It took a while but Yuugao remembered where she saw the blond before and also realized that he was the one that saved her from being raped by the shinobis from Iwa. Looking below her sheets, she was relieved to see that her Anbu clothes were still on, although they looked better before. Suddenly, the pain from her broken ribs hit her and she gasped from it while unconsciously placing her hand near the bandaged area.

"Once we brought you in, I found a doctor who took great care of your wounds. You should be fine within a week" – Smiled Jiraya, earning a nod from Yuugao, while she saw the blond smiling at her as well.

"Well, it seems that an appreciation is in order…ah Uzumaki isn't it?" – Asked Yuugao before Naruto nodded.

"Uzumaki Naruto is the name and you don't have to thank me. Ero-sensei here sensed the heavy usage of chakra and told us to see what was happening. How are you feeling?" – Asked Naruto.

"My ribs still hurts, excuse me Jiraya-sama, I need to contact Konoha of my fail…" – Said Yuugao, but was interrupted by Jiraya.

"No need. I've already contacted Tsunade about your status and she issued an order to you, it's in this scroll" – Said Jiraya, before he gave the scroll for the woman to read.

_

* * *

__Yuugao-san, _

_I hear from Jiraya's Intel that you managed to complete the mission you and two other Anbus were sent to. He also said that you're badly injured and would've being killed if he and Naruto didn't stop the Anbus. Also, since he didn't see you with the other, I will assume them to be missing in action, until further information. Now, it's came to my attention, that you have participated in all of Konoha's Anbu suicidal missions and in each one of them you returned with bad bruises and chakra exhaustion. You're one of this village's finest example of what kunoichi should be and as such I cannot afford to lose you. _

_As of right now, I'm issuing a long-term mission and it consists of staying with Naruto and Jiraya until they are scheduled to return from their training trip in one and a half years. _

_Godaime Hokage_

* * *

After reading it, Yuugao suddenly lost her focus and started looking down to the ground. She received a new mission which didn't involve her sacrificing her life in near death situations, thus gaining enough time for the old tears and scars of her life to appear once more. She, then, looked at the two.

"So it appears that we're expending a lot of time together Naruto; Jiraya-sama. What are we going to do for one and a half year?" – Asked Yuugao to which Jiraya smiled.

"You are to rest lady; doctor's instructions. We will remain here until you feel ready to walk, after that we're going to Sea Country. There is a place there where I intend to teach Naruto here about suiton manipulation. For now, though, please get some rest. Our lunch will be brought here, so we don't have to leave the room" – Said Jiraya, before he heard the sound of the door knocking and opened for the attendant to leave the lunch on the bedroom table, before leaving, with Jiraya following.

"Where are you going, Ero-sensei?" – Asked Naruto as he got up to check the lunch. Yuugao in the meanwhile was wondering about the term Naruto used to address one of the sannin.

"One of my spies reached me regarding some news; his place is not so far away from here. Help her eat, okay?" – Said Jiraya, before closing the door leaving the two alone. Naruto, then, inspected the food and then turned to the Anbu.

"Well, I don't know If you like these steamy vegetables or not, but Ero-sensei said I have to stop eating ramen and eat some healthy food, ah I'm sorry but I don't know your name" – Asked Naruto.

"Actually, on normal occasions, sharing my identity would ruin my chances of being in Anbu corps, but considering the situation, I guess it's okay…my name is Uzuki Yuugao and to answer your first question, I do like steamy vegetables, but I'm afraid you'll have to help me…just by lifting my arm, my ribs hurts" – Said Yuugao, but something about this whole ordeal pissed her off. The reason was that she was kind of a self-reliant person. Naruto, though, didn't seem to mind as he grabbed the dish and one hashi to feed her.

As he sat down next to her, Yuugao turned to address him.

"I was kind of curious about how you address Jiraya-sama?" – Asked Yuugao, before seeing Naruto leave out a little laugh.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you've been to one of Konoha's onsens before, right? There isn't a single woman in the elemental nations that wasn't peeked by the almighty Gama Sennin. That's the reason for his nickname. Plus, it's nice to see his face after I call him that" – Laughed Naruto while grabbing a broccolis and positioning for Yuugao to eat it, to which she smiled and ate the vegetable. Yuugao found it strange about this feeling of peace she felt upon seeing him laugh and also understood why Naruto called Jiraya like that, from all the times she had to leave the onsen because of the man peeping at the women.

"So, what can you tell me about the Anbu? I heard from Ero-sensei that they are the elite of shinobi in Konoha, so one must be really good to join the rank isn't it?" – Asked Naruto, earning a nod from Yuugao as she accepted another broccoli, before swallowing.

"Well, you have to be at least jounin to join our ranks and even so, it's necessary to have complementary skills that make you different from the rest. Are you interested?" – Asked Yuugao, before seeing Naruto nod, but with some reluctance as expected from everyone.

"I don't know, I'm still a genin and probably won't be a chunnin until I come back from this trip, it'll take even more time for me to be a jounin." – Said Naruto as he grabbed one of the broccolis and ingested it before he offered one for the woman who gladly accepted and ate it. Suddenly, one memory hit her and she realized Naruto was facing two Anbu shinobi on his own.

"It was very impressive you taking on those Anbus. Before going unconscious, I noticed the fuuton jutsu you used to save me" – Stated Yuugao, before seeing Naruto blush in appraisal. After all, it was the first time a woman praised him for his abilities and not smash him in the head like Sakura did.

"Well, fuuton it's my prime affinity and I know wide-scale jutsus that leaves the enemy no alternative but face it head on and hope to survive; those Anbu sure didn't. I have a question, though; Konoha's policy is about teamwork, but you're alone against those two. What happened to your team?" – Asked Naruto, but the lost look on Yuugao's face told him everything and he feared something back happened.

"Two other Anbu members were sent along with me for what we advanced shinobi calls suicidal missions. We managed to defeat an A ranked missing-nin that was trying to enter Fire Country, however those Anbus from Iwa wanted to kill the man, hence why they killed my two comrades. I didn't have enough chakra so I fled and that's where you and Jiraya-sama found me" – Explained Yuugao, earning a nod from Naruto as he finished his plate and then placed at the table.

"I never lost a comrade, so I don't know what's like; I'm really sorry, though, for what happened, were they closed to you?" – Asked Naruto, before seeing Yuugao negate with her head.

"No, they weren't, at least not more than colleagues, …" – Said Yuugao, but stopped while unable to form the words to express that they died in the line of their duty. Ever since her fiancée's death, she has been throwing her life at risk so that she would forget the immeasurable pain that fills her heart every day, but while she wanted nothing more than this, she didn't want people to go down with her if such a thing occurred. For some unknown reason, every time she has been close to death, but never she walked towards the light to finally meet her dead boyfriend once more.

"You don't need to explain it to me. Ah, do you want anything else? I see the rain is already subsiding, so I'll prepare for my Bo-staff exercise routine" – Said Naruto.

"Well, resting doesn't really suits me any good, so you could help me get up and take me with you" – Smiled Yuugao, earning a nod from Naruto as he made a familiar hand seal, before two kage bunshins appeared next to Yuugao, before helping her get up and go outside. Yuugao was surprised with the usage of kage bunshin, but didn't say anything. Upon arriving at a clear which happened to be the hotel garden, Naruto's clones helped Yuugao to sit on a bench nearby, before being dispelled as she got to watch Naruto pick his weapon, before initiating his dance against the imaginary opponents.

While watching the martial arts showdown, Yuugao just felt the need to smile as the scenery before her. After the run stopped, the sun's power opened the skies and forced his sunlight to illuminate the once clouded day. Also, since Naruto's hair was that golden blond, the sunlight actually increased the color tone to a point that Yuugao wondered if it was shining. Also, she could see the smile displayed on his face as he went through some really advanced katas of the Bo-Staff Style peculiar to the Sarutobi Clan. In fact, any shinobi who wanted to explore the use of weapons in order to use it as an extension of the body must practice daily to a point that using it becomes second nature and Yuugao was surprised to see a person so focused, besides herself and…

For all her might, she couldn't finish her train of thought. Her heart hurt immediately, thus preventing her from comparing Naruto's drive to become better with the weapon in a similar way to her deceased fiancée. She was so engrossed in this train of thought, that she didn't realize a new presence has just arrived.

"It's pretty amazing isn't it? You know the Sandaime was my sensei and not once did I see this level of dedication regarding the Bo-Staff style. I guess Naruto has taken a liking to it" – Said Jiraya as he took a seat next to the momentarily surprised woman, before he spoke again. "I thought I told that you needed to rest, didn't I?" – Asked Jiraya, earning a nod from Yuugao before she looked back at Naruto who just finished one advanced move that consisted of him extending the staff over his shoulder while extending his arms, holding it and swirling his body, taking as many enemies as possible with it.

"I don't appreciate resting in a room for one whole week. Besides, this is not the first time I'm in this situation" – Said Yuugao to which Jiraya nodded.

"I know that; I've confirmed with my old teammate about your status. Uzuki Yuugao, Anbu captain level shinobi with an impressive record of successful missions, only losing to former Anbu Captains Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi; was soon to be married with Tokubetsu jounin Gekkou Hayate, but he was lost during the sand-sound invasion. Ever since, you've went to one suicidal missions after another, barely escaping out alive in probably the majority of them." – Reported Jiraya, but he stopped when he saw the foregoing look on her face, before he switched to Naruto who was still practicing.

"I somehow knew that you didn't go for some information; instead you asked for my file. As to why I wonder? What business you have with my life and what missions I do take? With all due respect Jiraya-sama, you don't have the authority to…" – Said Yuugao, but stopped from fear of over-stepping her boundaries, but Jiraya only smiled and landed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry if I intruded in your life like this, but I needed to know a thing or two about you, because of Naruto" – Stated Jiraya.

"If you're asking whether or not I hate him for the Kyuubi, all you had to do was ask. And no, I don't hate him, I never did. I was merely a child at the time and my parents were samurais on the moment of joining Konoha. No one precious to me died because of him and if it did, I'd know the difference between the fox demon and the one who keeps it jailed. But there is more to it, isn't it? This mission isn't only for training him" – Asked Yuugao, before she saw the pervert nod in positive with his head.

"Since you're in Anbu, I'm sure you heard of this new Akatsuki Organization?" – Asked Jiraya, before Yuugao nodded and he continued. "They consist of S ranked missing-nins from all the hidden villages with the purpose of collecting the tailed demons and Uchiha Itachi happens to be one of their members, along with former member of the Swordsmen of the Mist Hoshikage Kisame. Both extremely powerful shinobis, being on pair with my skills and they happen to be the ones after Naruto in order to get the beast from within his stomach. This mission is both for his training and his protection against the Akatsuki. So, I saw your file in order to assess your skills in helping both with his protection and his training. I understood you have a prime affinity for suiton and you're one of Konoha's top weapon user, which makes you perfect for teach him improve" – Explained Jiraya to which Yuugao nodded.

"Well, seeing as I'm here with you two for the duration of this trip, I might as well do something; however, if Akatsuki appears, I won't be much help against them" – Stated Yuugao.

"You won't need to actually. They won't attack him with me around. Last time, they tried luring me away from Naruto so that they could move in for the capture. However, in case they manage to find us and move in for a fight, I'll hold Itachi, since he's the most dangerous one. You'll pair with Naruto against Kisame; with the brat's long scale jutsus, he can use it to escape and I would follow shortly afterwards with my toad ninjutsu" – Explained Jiraya, earning a nod from Yuugao while she was watching Naruto now switching to fuuton practice as he began to control the wind to swirl around his body. Suddenly, just as Naruto switched to a different hand seal, the once small gust of wind transformed into a hurricane, before the blond relinquished his control and the once gathered wind was dispersed through the air.

"I have a feeling, though, that in a few years time, he will be a force not to be trifled with. I'm still dazzled by his control over the wind element" – Said Yuugao, to which Jiraya nodded.

"Even though I say he has the skills of a chunnin, inside I know that he's stronger than a low-level jounin. By the time we come back, he'll be strong enough to give the Akatsuki a run for their money" – Stated Jiraya, as the scene shifted to Naruto once again focusing the wind around him, but now for a different hand seal as suddenly a strong gust of wind was sent forward, but with not so much chakra, but more control, so as not to damage the hotel garden. While watching, Yuugao couldn't help but think about her next year and a half and how much of an influence will Naruto leave on her, if what she felt earlier was any indication.

**

* * *

**

**===One week later===**

One week later, the group composed of a sannin, an Anbu captain and a genin, set out for their next destination. Yuugao did let go of the Anbu clothes, since it would be too inconspicuous to walk around wearing that without her mask and she purchased a new set of clothes, consisting of black cargo paints, a new pair of gray boots, and a fishnet shirt covered with a jounin style vest. During the course of the week, she and Naruto managed to form a nice level of bonding, sharing conversations about people they know, shinobi skills and even some gossip about her ex-Anbu Captain and Naruto's jounin sensei, who actually were the same person.

While sharing those conversations, Yuugao found strange that Naruto managed to maintain a decent level of conversation with her, because she knew that those of his age usually focused on more trivial manner. Naruto explained to her about some aspects of his life, albeit not the darkest part, but just a glimpse of it, which urged him to learn things that he wouldn't have to, until the right moment, thus getting a nod from Yuugao in understanding. After all, growing up alone and without assistance was tough for anyone; to top that, he was also hated for something he didn't do. Naruto also told some aspects of his training, even the part about him learning what was like to take a man's life, even though he was already beaten to which Yuugao nodded in understanding, since it's a very important fear all shinobi have and can lead to unexpected surprises if one couldn't find it in his right mind to do what was needed.

The last member of the group actually remained distant throughout the week, only watching with a smirk the interaction between Naruto and Yuugao. He knew from Tsunade regarding the reasons for her choice in performing suicidal missions, but after a week of bonding, he could very well see that Naruto was indeed having an impact in her way of thinking. After all, because of what Naruto went through, he could socialize and maybe even understand other's pain better than anybody else, hence why the pervert believed that Naruto could be the one to wake her from her fiancée's loss. Suddenly, though, the perverted mind of his clicked at the possibility of a new best seller as he grabbed his little notebook and began scribbling a few ideas.

By seeing this, though, Naruto had the decency to sigh in dismay and explain to Yuugao that sometimes he have some sort of breakthrough about a new idea for his porn and, then, he begins to write things will giggling like a fangirl upon seeing an Uchiha. Snorting in realization of that damn book, Yuugao couldn't help but shiver at the possibility of her being a character in this new book of his, a thought surprisingly shared by Naruto as they walked towards the place where Naruto would learn suiton manipulation and better improve his wind techniques.

**_

* * *

_**

**_AN: Well, that was it. If you guys thought that Yuugao and Naruto would meet in this chapter, you're right. I've had some minor issues about the rescue scene, but in the end, __I believe I got it right. _**

**_I'm thinking of ending his trip in maybe a chapter or two and move on with the beginning of a similar, but __obviously different version of the Shippuden series…my version of it. With a much stronger Naruto and a new bond, what new twists will be expected from the original series? I'll leave this thought for you guys to work on it. _**

_**See you all next chapter**_


	8. Understanding one another

**

* * *

****Chapter 8 – Understanding one another**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

A few days went by since the group set trip once more and their destination was a place Jiraiya knew that would be splendid for Naruto to learn how to temper with the water element. The perverted sannin, though, wanted to keep it a secret from his traveling peers, even though both Naruto and Yuugao kept asking questions about it. The woman was fairly certain they were heading to Water Country because of the direction they were taking, but while she knew its geography; the country itself was foreigner to her. All she knew was that Water Country, just like Fire Country, has its own hidden ninja village, called Kirigakure. Right now, the group found a little cottage on the way and decided to rest a little bit, before setting foot once more towards Jiraiya's destination.

Taking advantage of the situation, Naruto chose to perform one special exercise he learned from Soujiro-sensei. While Yuugao and Jiraiya were talking about Konoha a bit, the blond took a sit on the ground, before crossing his legs in a sort of meditation position. He, then, closed his eyes and positioned his hands on the ram seal in order to mold the necessary chakra for this technique to work. Suddenly, the wind suffered a major shift around Naruto as he continued to focus on molding the Fuuton type chakra around and also beneath him. While the blond was attempting the exercise, the excessive usage of chakra alerted Yuugao and Jiraiya who, then, stopped what they were doing and looked at the blond to see what was going on with him. The woman was puzzled about the whole ordeal, but she had a feeling that the pervert knew what the blond was doing if his smile was any indication.

"This is an exercise Naruto learned from a friend of mine, regarding the usage of Fuuton chakra. In a couple minutes, you'll see a very surprising feat" – Smiled Jiraiya as he managed to spike Yuugao's curiosity. A while later, just like the sannin predicted, the woman watched in amazement, as Naruto suddenly lifted off the ground and started levitating slowly. She looked at Jiraiya with a dumbfounded look, which to the man, was obvious that she was demanding a explanation as to how he managed to levitate by just using chakra alone.

"By focusing Fuuton chakra on certain tenketsus, Naruto can propel his body off the ground and be able to maintain a constant flow of chakra in order to maintain his position for some time. My friend saw his chakra abundance and taught him this exercise. It consists on a very advanced exercise of chakra control. By practicing it, not only can Naruto expand his chakra capacity, which is already big by the way, he can also improve his elemental chakra control to the point of knowing just the exact quantity of chakra to be used for each technique" – Explained Jiraiya as he kept watching the blond performing admirably. Yuugao, on the other hand, wondered about the Fuuton element and its peculiarities.

"I happened to come across some Fuuton users back in Anbu, but since it requires a heavy load of chakra, no one actually favors using the element alone from fear of losing chakra in the midst of battle. Naruto, on the other hand, doesn't even seem fazed by using so much. How long can he hold this technique until he grows tired?" – Asked Yuugao, though she never took her eyes away from the blond while talking to the sannin.

"Normally, in about ten or fifteen minutes, he stops and you can see drops of sweat from his face; however, that happened two months ago. Nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to uphold the twenty minute barrier and not even show any hints of tiredness" – Explained Jiraiya earning a nod from Yuugao as she crossed her arms. After that, no more conversation was shared between the two as Yuugao just stared at the blond performing the exercise. In the short time, she got to meet the blond; surprised was a word that could describe what she was feeling at the moment. While she didn't think of labeling him as the demon he keeps prisoner, she actually thought people disliked him because of the unknown number of pranks he'd always pull when he was young. However, after spending some time with him, she found the boy to be quite entertaining and fun to hang out with; not to mention the fact that sparring with him, on occasions, managed to drift away her angst, somewhat.

After the group left, Jiraiya would set Naruto and Yuugao against each other on just weapons fight and while Naruto was nowhere near Yuugao's level of proficiency, he managed to tire the woman out because of his stamina. Because of this, Yuugao found herself sleeping better than before; whether it was because of the new company or said company tiring her down to near unconsciousness, she wasn't aware, but either way, she was thankful for the first time she was able to close her eyes at night and open them the next day, since her fiancée died. Of course, the nightmares still occurred from time to time, but they were less frequent as her body had to replenish its energy.

Also as far as conversations went, Naruto and Yuugao would often exchange some battle experiences and Naruto would share information about the new generation of Konoha's ninja force, namely Konoha 11, of course being eleven since the Uchiha traitor decided it was better to go kiss some snake's ass then remaining in the village, slowly building his reputation.

Fifteen minutes passed and both Jiraiya and Yuugao felt the wind returning to normal and Naruto landing on the ground before getting up and turn to look at his audience.

"I wasn't aware I was performing a show here" – Commented Naruto as he got up and adjusted his clothes, before approaching the other two.

"With that much chakra being used at once, I'm rather surprised we're the only two watching brat. I can see you got better than last time. I can see, as well, that you're not as tired as before" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Naruto.

"I'm actually a little bit winded, but certainly not as bad as before. So, can we go already or is there a need to rest a little bit more?" – Asked Naruto, but was surprised when Yuugao showed an amused grin, but kept to herself, though. It surely was a first, Naruto and Jiraiya thought. Upon questioning as to the motive, she simply explained that when it comes to training, Naruto could be rather impatient, which earned a snicker from Jiraiya and a frown from Naruto. It didn't take long until the group set foot outside once more, heading towards where Jiraiya wanted to go.

During the way, Yuugao was examining Naruto's bo-staff a little bit, as in administering its weight and how Naruto could perform faster movements with it. Naruto, meanwhile, was watching Yuugao's analytical eyes with enthusiasm. Discussing certain aspects about weapons certainly perked the blond's interest and he wanted to know more about how to treat your weapon as if it was your own limb. Yuugao was content enough to explain some things to him, since, even though he was outright eager to learn more about it, never once did he demanded or acted like a child pouting about wanting to learn more about it. After throwing the staff from one hand to another, she then gave it back to Naruto who, then, used chakra to short the staff's length and place it on his back, before he paid attention to the weapon user.

"Your weapon is well-balanced and not very heavy, allowing you to minister faster movements which would disorient the enemy. However, Naruto, you must take into account that every weapon has its weakness. The Katana, for example, is weak against multiple opponents, so it's takes much of the user's skills to be able to take on against a group of enemies where as with the staff, you're better equipped to fight them together. Being that said the Bo-staff fails when it comes to speed and agility in moves. You do remember how I managed to enter your defense so easily, right?" – Asked Yuugao, before Naruto nodded and she continued with her assessment. "So in order for you to eliminate this weakness is to predict my movements and act accordingly".

"How can I predict your movements, I only act once I see your intentions" – Replied Naruto, not sure if he understood the concept behind using the weapon as an extension of his body and Yuugao felt certain that the blond was in the right track here, albeit a little uncertain of his skills.

"Naruto, that's what it means to use the weapon as if it was an extension of your body. In plain Taijutsu or even ninjutsu match, mostly it's your instincts that guide you; with it, you're able to start hand seals just because the opponent started walking towards you or you raise your arm in defense when your instincts tell you to, even though you didn't actually see the enemy move. Everything is purely based on instinct. Don't worry, though, when this training is over, your body will be predisposed to move accordingly to the enemy's movements" - Smiled Yuugao to her new student.

Naruto for his part was quite beamed at the possibility of learning from a person like Yuugao. Her skills with the sword was unheard of, at least as far as the blond's knowledge went, and the fact that she was more than willing to teach him was a plus in his opinion.

"Ne, Yuugao-san, I understood from the pervert over there, that you're also a water user. Is it so hard to master? I mean, because of the fact that it's not my affinity and all?" - Asked Naruto, earning a nod in the positive from Yuugao.

"I wouldn't say hard per se, it's just time-demanding that's all. You can grasp the theory easy enough, the problem is that, since it isn't your affinity, your body would take more time to adjust then you normally have with Fuuton techniques. Once again, though, don't worry about time, because we've got plenty to get you in shame regarding the Bo-staff and Suiton ninjutsu." - Explained Yuugao. She, then, saw the beaming smile from the blond and couldn't help but smile as well.

Jiraiya explained to her how nice it's to teach someone like Naruto because he would absorb everything like a sponge and also because of his chakra capacity, he could go on and on until he managed to master the exercise. Not to mention the strange but nice feeling deep inside her heart when she sees him working hard to overcome obstacles that only someone with a Jounin level of chakra capacity could undertake.

"Say Naruto, I never got to know much about you, except your skills as a shinobi. And you seem an interesting character; so you don't mind if I asked some questions about you, do you?" - Asked Yuugao, before seeing a smirk on his face, followed by a nod. After getting the authorization, the woman began bombarding the blond with questions regarding many aspects, like his view of the village, his dreams for the future, people he knew, including those he worshiped and of course, those he wouldn't lift a finger to help.

Naruto explained every question with details, going from how he adored Konoha and its sights from the Hokage Monument, he described about his favorite place and favorite activity which was watching the sun setting down. He, then, explained what used to be his dream to which Yuugao offered her surprise since rarely a person ever dreamed about being the Hokage, before he explained that he didn't have that dream any longer, which once again surprised the woman, before she asked why.

"I just don't know what it takes to be a Hokage anymore and I don't even know If I'll have what it takes to be one as well. As we grow up, we slowly drift away from our childhood dreams. We kill, we cope with it and we move on, but our scars remains vivid within our minds until the day we're taken from this world. For instance, you could tell that Itachi's dream was to kill his entire clan and become a member of the strongest organization in the elemental nations? My dream, now, is to be able to take the opportunities that lay before me and seize it the best way possible" - Explained Naruto, not even aware of the fact that the woman next to him was looking at his face as if the blond didn't even existed.

Jiraiya, though, heard everything and sighed in sadness since Naruto learned the harsh truth of the ninja world far too soon for his liking. But he said nothing as he continued walking just as he heard Yuugao manifest.

"For you to speak like that, means that you've been through a harsh experience as a shinobi, care to enlighten me? I mean if it' not personal and everything" - Asked Yuugao, before seeing the blond negating with his head and explain about what happened on the day he and a couple of his peers tried bringing Uchiha Sasuke back. Yuugao, then, heard about how eager the Uchiha, as Naruto often called him, was to obtain power going as far as betraying the village by joining with Orochimaru.

As she heard everything, she couldn't help but flinch at the notion of being hit dead on by Kakashi's signature technique the Chidori right on the chest. She was wondering how the hell Naruto was still alive, but she remembered the fox inside his stomach and figured it had something to do with it.

"In the end, Sasuke left me to die and if it wasn't for Kakashi-sensei helping me, I'd be dead long time ago. Since then, I decided that a major change in my life was a due. Improving on areas I failed at the academy was the first step...." - Said Naruto as he continued talking while Yuugao just listened intently, while absorbing everything about Naruto's life. She smiled when the blond explained to her about his idol being the Sandaime and the Yondaime Hokage, explaining how much he wanted to be in the same level of skills in the future. She didn't need to hear about the person the blond loathed, since it was pretty clear from what happened at the mission to retrieve Sasuke.

All in all, though, even if she never once heard he speak the fox's name, she was fairly certain that the blond went through a lot ever since he graduated at the academy. Obviously, there were other less fortunate than him in the shinobi regard, like those born in the midst of war, but Naruto managed to gather a great deal of experience.

"Say Yuugao-san..." - Said Naruto, earning the woman's attention before the blond started the conversation once more. "While growing up, I managed to figure that shinobis in general has different ways to cope with their pain of loss and I was wondering if Kakashi-sensei, when he was at the Anbu, arrived late for his meetings. When we started as genins, I always thought he did it just to piss us off, but one time I saw him staring at that rock that contained the name of the shinobis that lost their lives in the line of duty" - Asked Naruto, earning a sad smile from the woman as she remembered her discussion with her ex-Anbu captain the day of the Sandaime's funeral.

* * *

**Flashback on**

**(Music 'Hokage's Funeral' playing)**

_Konoha was suffering from the heavy rain that fell right after the Sandaime's funeral started. To almost everyone in the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen was considered the sole bearer of the will of fire and because of his passing, even the sky was crying. Every shinobi in the village gathered in front of the Administration Building in order to offer their final gift to a man that managed to protect everyone until his last dying breath. _

_On the other side of the village, though, two elite shinobis were giving their prayers to long lost comrades and dead fiancée. Kakashi was with his hands on pockets as he stared at the monument that held the names of those that passed away while on a mission or defending the village from the enemy._

"_Kakashi-sempai, did you come here for Obito-san?" - Asked Yuugao as she saw him get up and walk away, while she approached and knelled on the ground in order to pray for her dead fiancée._

"_Hurry up, the Sandaime's Funeral is about to start" - Said Kakashi as he turned and looked at the Hokage Monument as Yuugao finished her praying and turned to address the silver haired jounin._

"_You should stop making excuses for being late and come here earlier Kakashi-sempai" - Commented Yuugao as she got up and looked at the man while waiting for reply. _

"_I already have, but every time I come here, I just feel like beating my former self to the ground" - Said Kakashi before he started walking towards the place where the Sandaime's funeral was being held_

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**Flashback off**

"I cannot tell much about what happened to Sempai, from fear of losing his trust in me. If you want to know about it, you can try to ask him about it. However, back in Anbu, he coped differently than nowadays. Kakashi became a legend in the Anbu forces because he decided that going on death like missions would take his attention away from what happened to him. On several occasions, he'd return from a mission covered in blood and bruises" - Explained Yuugao, with a lost look on her face, but Naruto was oblivious to this whole ordeal as he processed the story.

"Sounds like he's been through a lot, then. Thanks for explaining it to me Yuugao-san; I guess a part of me always wanted to know about him, but I never pushed myself to ask him about it" - Said Naruto as he looked further to Jiraiya's back.

Suddenly, the perverted stopped in his tracks, while waiting for Naruto and Yuugao to stop next to him, so that he could show the place where they would expend the rest of the trip. When Naruto and Yuugao appeared, their eyes were plugged from their faces as they witnessed maybe the most beautiful scenery Nature is able to produce. It consisted of a wide lake surrounded by a couple of mountains that were responsible for dividing an even bigger river rapid, thus creating a great ordeal of three amazing waterfalls.

_**(AN: Try imagining similar scenery to Niagara Falls)**_

The sheer pressure of the waterfall hitting the lowest river was enough to create a reverberating sound that would echo throughout the field and Naruto was already gulping in anticipation from having to get near those waterfalls.

"Welcome to _**Water Country's Taki no Sanpasu**_ (Waterfall of the Three Paths). Its creation was due to seismic activities a long time ago. History showed that this scenery's creation never stopped changing since a long time ago and even now is on the verge of changing. Naruto, this place is perfect for you to learn how to use Suiton jutsus" – Smiled Jiraiya, until the blond asked him why and he explained. "I'll explain later, but by the end of our time here, you'll be able to reverse the current as it's required of a Suiton master. Once you become adamant on using Suiton chakra, you'll proceed to reversing the river's current and maintain it for the duration of one minute. Mind you that this exercise is extremely difficult and you'll only be attaining this because of your high chakra capacity. Any other Genin or even Chuunin would be hard pressed to hold it for a couple of seconds, before his or her chakra capacity would run dry. I bet even you Yuugao-san would have trouble reversing the current for one minute; with my chakra, I managed to go up to three minutes" – Smiled Jiraiya as he jumped from the mountain they were standing and fell on a open space near the river's margin, before he proceeded to untie his belongings and set out their camp.

Only after Naruto and Yuugao landed as well, did Jiraiya start explaining something about the terrain.

"Well, of course water won't be an issue for us, but food will. This river is filled with salmon, however they're used to swimming against the current and will be extremely hard to catch them. Also, hunting animals down these parts won't be an option, because as you can see, there isn't much habitat down here, except for the salmons. Naruto, you'll be in charge of catching the salmons for us every day, think of as endurance training" – Ordered Jiraiya, earning a frown in dismay from the blond who was wondering how the hell does filling the pervert's stomach could help him train. "Easy there, brat, I'll explain my idea. When you're fishing for salmon, your body will be dragged by the current down the river. You can maintain your position, though, by applying chakra to your limbs and using them to stay put or even manage to swim against it when you're strong enough" – Explained Jiraiya before he saw the blond give him a nod, albeit not so satisfactory.

Seeing as the sun was setting, Jiraiya postponed Naruto's training for the next day, considering the fact that training in such a dangerous environment at night wasn't a very safe thing to do. Tampering with the lake's strong currents without supervision could hurt the blond. So, that left with the group leaving the camp in order to find some fruit for them to eat. A couple of apples and bananas were found and they left with nothing but fruit for dinner, since neither Jiraiya nor Yuugao felt like diving into the river to catch some salmon, to which Naruto verbally protested, saying that when push comes to shove and he isn't in any shape to go fishing, then one of them would have to do the deed.

Of course, Yuugao joked that she would offer him some chakra pills to replenish his health in order for him to go fishing, a motion seconded by Jiraiya who, in turn, appreciated the woman's quick thinking. After dinner, the three set out two tents, seeing that they now have a lady with them and sleeping together wasn't in Yuugao's plans especially with the pervert around.

* * *

**===the next day===**

After more fruit for breakfast, Jiraiya, Naruto and Yuugao went to walk on water in order to feel exactly what's like to balance themselves on top of the river rapids. Yuugao and Jiraiya didn't have much trouble because of their experience, but they could very well see that Naruto was focusing very hard to walk normally, which was expected seeing as this was the first time Naruto ever had to walk on top of such strong currents before. After a while, the group stopped in the middle of the lake and Jiraiya began to explain Naruto's training regimen from now on.

"Naruto, we have one year and a half to teach you how to handle suiton ninjutsu. We also need to perfect your Fuuton affinity as well as your weapon fighting skills. Here's what you're going to do every day, starting today. During the morning period, you'll be with Yuugao here sparring with her using weapons, the goal here is to be on pair with her skills by the end of this trip..." - Explained Jiraiya, but was cut short when Naruto protested.

"Excuse me Ero-sensei, but what you mean being on pair with Yuugao's skills. She is the best Kenjutsu user in Konoha and when we fight, I couldn't even see her moving correctly, much more managing to reach a level of a elite Jounin" - Said Naruto, earning a smile in appraisal from the woman and a smirk from Jiraiya, but he proceeded nonetheless. "That's exactly what I meant, Naruto. Of course skills of her caliber would take a while for you to reach, however you forgot that time doesn't apply to you the same way. We'll be training for one and a half years, which to you, can go up to four year using only four Kage Bunshin. Surely, you understand this right Naruto" - Concluded Jiraiya, before he continued with the training regimen. "In the afternoon, you'll be mastering your Fuuton chakra and we're going to practice it during fighting situations that will include both me and Yuugao here. Afterwards, you'll receive lessons regarding introduction to Suiton chakra while getting adjusted to practicing on top of these troubled waters. In no time, you'll adapt and we'll proceed to fighting on the water, using not only weapons, but jutsus as well. By the time, you manage to finish learning how to use Suiton chakra, we'll move on to a couple of Suiton techniques I plan to teach you, of course followed by some offensive ones as well. Well, that's about it, any questions?" - Said Jiraiya, before he saw Naruto negate with his head.

This new method of training was insane, Naruto wondered. No matter, though, cause it would be just another of his achievements in the future. After the method was explained, the three went to shore, before getting out of the river. Jiraiya, then, stepped out of the way as Naruto and Yuugao picked up their respective weapons so that the training could begin.

"Naruto, before we begin, I'll ask you to clear your mind out of any thoughts that could influence you in this fight. In order for you to let your instincts guide you, your mind will have to be clear, okay?" - Asked Yuugao, before she charged Naruto head on with the intent to attack his sternum, before Naruto managed to defend the strike by positioning his bo-staff accordingly, but instead of only defending, he pushed the sword backwards with force, intending to temper with Yuugao's equilibrium, being unsuccessful, however, since Yuugao absorbed the impact and managed to defend Naruto's quick strike on her chest.

Upon seeing his attack flustered, Naruto positioned his Bo-staff on top of his shoulders and began twirling straight at Yuugao, leaving her no alternative other than to jump back since a lone Ninjato wouldn't be able to parry the attack. After stopping the attack, Naruto grabbed the end of the staff and swing it vertically aiming for the girl's hand, before Yuugao evaded the technique and landed a powerful kick to Naruto's abdomen, sending him flying while holding his stomach as a pathetic attempt to stop the pain.

After managing to land on his feet, despite the pain, Naruto suddenly felt the need to kneel because of the pain in his stomach. He grudgingly got up as the pain eased a little bit, before looking at Yuugao who was only waiting for him to return to the fight once more. Her fighting stance was already in position, never once underestimating Naruto, even though he was just an ant in comparison with her. Just by looking at her like that, Naruto respected her skills . However, he had a goal to achieve and that meant being on pair with her in skills by the end of the training trip, so it was time to use some chakra to aid him.

Focusing some towards his legs, his speed was now doubled as he was right in front of her in seconds, thus surprising Yuugao momentarily, before she adjusted to his speed and managed to parry his advance by positioning her foot right in between Naruto's legs, thus tempering with his balance, before she positioned her sword inches away from his jugular, leaving him no alternative other than yield.

"Using chakra was good and all, but speed itself is useless if you lack the skills to predict my movements. What you must learn Naruto is that, different from Taijutsu, you have to remain some distance from your opponent. Because if not, he will do exactly as I did, except he won't have any interest in keeping you alive, understood?" - Asked Yuugao, earning a nod from Naruto, before they started the spar once more.

* * *

**===At the end of the second year===**

With time, their fights improved in quality and Naruto was able to parry Yuugao's movements a lot better, even managing to catch her by surprise from time to time. Regarding Fuuton ninjutsu, Jiraiya had to give it to the blond, in just about every jutsu he used against the blond, Naruto had a counter for him by dodging fairly quickly and then doing hand seals with enough speed that before Jiraiya even finished his jutsu, Naruto would already send either a wind sword jutsu at him or a wind gale palm jutsu, being the fastest ones available in his arsenal.

The blond even managed to create a new technique that is even faster and similar to the _**Katon Housenka no Jutsu**_. By focusing Fuuton chakra to his lungs in intervals, Naruto learned that he could expel wind shots from his mouth and Jiraiya had to use a very powerful Doton defense so as not to be pierced by the blond's technique which was called _**Fuuton Kaze Tama **__(Wind Release: Wind Shot Jutsu)._

His stamina also improved by so many times wrestling against the strong currents as well as catching the fast swimming salmons, to which Naruto cursed their very existence from not even bothering the fast currents. One time, after he went out of the water with a bucket of salmons, he could've swore that Yuugao looked at him as in checking him from head to toe with a faint blush on her face. Whether she was this way from being tired after their sparring sessions or not, the boy was oblivious.

The truth, though, was that indeed Yuugao was having perverted thoughts but she chose to keep it for herself. During their time together, the woman felt at ease with the blond, often talking to him on various occasions and even sharing a couple of funny stories together. She also had the decency to respect Naruto's hard work to learn every bit of the tips she gave him regarding weapon fighting as well as every bit of information regarding Suiton chakra, which in three months, practicing and the blond already managed to create little whirlpools on the water.

She was fairly confident that by the end of the training, Naruto would be well-versed at the subject. Nevertheless, even with the interaction with him, one thing still didn't change since she left Konoha. The nightmares, although less constant, were still there and when they came, she just couldn't sleep afterwards. She would then get up and look at the waterfall in front of her, wondering about how much her life changed because of what happened.

Before the invasion, she was the skilled Anbu kunoichi and future wife of Gekkou Hayate, now though; she's nothing but an empty shell of her former self. Closing her eyes, she remembered how it was to feel his touch once more, to hear his never ending coughs which were a way he found for enemies to underestimate him from thinking he was sick. She, then, opened her eyes to look at the waterfall some more, before sighing in dismay at what happened with her. However, when she turned and went back to sleep, she suddenly lost her ability to breathe. Her eyes were as wide as saucers for what she was seeing in front of her. Right next to a sleeping Naruto, a Jounin appeared wearing a bandana and the all too familiar sword passed from generations of the Gekkou Clan strapped to his belt. He was looking straight to Naruto for a while, before the man turned to his beloved wife.

"It's good to see you Yu-chan" - Greeted Hayate, before he saw Yuugao flinch by the sudden heartache she was feeling at the moment. In her dreams, she always wanted to talk to him at least one more time, to say how sorry she was from not arriving at the place earlier, thus preventing his death.

"Hay...ate, Hayate-kun, how...You're dead. I...saw you myself" - She tried to speak, but it was very difficult considering the circumstances.

"I'm indeed dead Yu-chan; however that doesn't mean I can't talk to you, right? After all, it's not every day I'm granted the opportunity to speak with you" - Said Hayate, before he looked back to Naruto in contemplation. Yuugao was finding strange that Hayate would do that, but seeing her dead fiancée once more was all that mattered right now.

"I remember him from the Chuunin exams I proctored. He was quite adamant on winning against the Inuzuka that, even though he was beaten severely, he never admitted defeat and managed to win the battle in the end. He may be young but I can see a lot of will power in him. Sandaime thinks he possess the will of fire he speaks so much about and I can very well see great things for him in the future, wouldn't you agree Yuugao-chan" - Asked Hayate.

"What do you me...?" - Asked Yuugao but was interrupted by her fiancée, as he explained.

"You've been spending a lot of time with him these days; I know that because I never stopped watching you from above. I could see how proud you were when he managed to deliver a solid blow with his Bo-staff and I even saw how you're looking at him when he got out of the river, even though I admit I was kind of jealous from above" - Laughed Hayate, before seeing Yuugao's flustered look. "It's been a long time since my death Yuugao-chan. You can't just keep doing this to yourself; endless nightmares, thoughts of regret from thinking that you could've prevented everything from happening. You deserve to move on with your life, you deserve to be happy" - Advised Hayate, before he once more looked at Naruto as in giving the hint to the woman.

However, before she could ask the man why he was talking about this, she noticed that his spirit began to fade, before he was completely gone from the world, but his message managed to echo once more:

_Move on with your life Yuugao-chan, I'll be up there protecting you..._

"Hayate!!! No come back please... I want to talk to you some more... Hayate!!! - Screamed Yuugao, not even aware of the fact that she was dreaming about everything.

Hearing the constant screaming, Naruto decided to check what was happening and he approached Yuugao's tent and heard she screaming the name Hayate over and over. He, then, decided to wake her up in order to wake up from a possible nightmare.

"Yuugao, wake up...wake up Yuugao" - Said Naruto as he placed his hands on her shoulder before sharing her. The woman suddenly opened her eyes, before the first thing she noticed was Naruto and that she was inside her tent the whole time.

"...Naruto, what happened? Why did you wake me up?" - Asked Yuugao as she sits from her position, while scratching her eyes.

"You were screaming the whole time about Hayate, I thought you were having a nightmare, I'm sorry" - Said Naruto, before Yuugao dismissed the need of apologies , before getting up from her tent and walking outside, still wondering if she was dreaming or not. However, since she was able to feel Naruto's hands on her shoulders and the wind adjourning her features, her question was answered.

The dream was so real, though, she wondered. Her heart was in pain the whole time as her conversation with her dead fiancée progressed. In the end, though, she didn't know if what happened was real or just an effect of her subconscious playing tricks with her mind. She was wondering about her dream so much, that she even forgot who was standing behind her. There was no awkward moment, because no one ever threw their clothes off in order to sleep, hence why Naruto was in regular black paints and dark gray shirt and Yuugao was with the black Anbu paints and her fishnet shirt.

"Yuugao-san, I didn't mean to wake you up, it's just...." - Said Naruto trying to apologize, but he stopped once she turned to address Naruto.

"You don't need to apologize Naruto, really. I was indeed having a nightmare of sort." - Explained Yuugao, thus easing Naruto's anxiety of ruining a person's beauty sleep. Silence, then, ruled their brief conversation as the woman started contemplating the sky to see if what she dreamed about was real or not. Naruto, for his part, knew something was wrong the minute he looked at her face, or rather her long lost look.

She, then, turned and walked straight for her tent as she passed Naruto without saying anything. In the dream, Hayate would look at her while saying she needed to move on with her life, but surely he couldn't be meaning what she thought he was?. Sure, Naruto was a nice person, devoted to his life as a shinobi and also good company for conversations. She even remembered the blond's physical attributes as very attractive. However, she couldn't even picture her together with him, the same way she was with Hayate.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears" - Advised Naruto, thus earning her attention.

"Thanks Naruto, but is nothing really. It was just a nightmare after all, I'll go to sleep, good night" - Greeted Yuugao, not even wanting to dwell on the subject of trusting the boy that much, as she slowly walked towards her tent.

"I know that look on your face, Yuugao-san..." - he started talking, well aware that she was listening every word of it, since she stopped dead on her tracks. "That look of pain from what happened in the past, you constantly shout to the heavens as to why it had to happen with you of all people and the constant feeling of regret you develop afterward, convincing you that it's your entire fault for what happened, even though you couldn't ever predict the results. Yeah, I know that look very well" - Explained Naruto as he looked at the waterfall , not even aware that the very woman he was addressing to was looking straight at his back with wide eyes.

"You got that just by looking at my eyes...." - Asked Yuugao, still shocked that the blond just now described everything she was feeling.

"Not only that, but also hearing you in your sleep this entire time. I felt like asking you about it, but I never meant to pry, so I kept my mouth shut about this. Also, when we're sparring, sometimes I had to use chakra to be able to block your fierce attacks, which carried more strength than finesse. I always figured that just like everyone, you too had your own bad story to cope with" - Explained Naruto, earning a nod from Yuugao as she had the decency to look down in sadness. She really considered bottling up these emotions and hope to get pasted this on her own, from fear of being misunderstood by her peers, who in turn, also had their respective bad stories and supposedly managed to get pasted it. However, for some strange reason, she thought she could actually trust the blond not to judge her, and thus she decided to open the barrier she kept up for so long.

"Why don't we go closer to the river so we can talk" - Advised Yuugao, earning a nod from Naruto as he followed the woman until she took a seat two inches from the margin and started talking. "It happened the day before the Sand-Sound invasion on our village as my team happened to be the ones responsible for performing some routes throughout the Konoha's urban territory. Nothing out of ordinary happened, as per usual, and our team was about to end the shift when the sun was up the next day; however one of my teammates found a dead shinobi on top of a roof, carrying a fatal wound from a Fuuton technique" - Explained Yuugao as fresh tears began to fall from her eyes, but she continued, nonetheless.

"Turned out that the shinobi was none other than my fiancée Gekkou Hayate" - Said Yuugao, as she burst into tears, while Naruto stood there shocked. He remembered the guy from that hosted the second part of the Chuunin Exams and wondered, at the time, why he wasn't present for the Third Part; instead he was replaced by a man named Shiranui Genma. Looking at the woman crying her hearts out, Naruto immediately let go of his wondering and embraced the woman in a tight hug as she let every tear from her eyes and every air from her lungs on Naruto's strangely comforting chest.

She screamed at her fiancée for leaving her, she screamed at the bastard who killed him, she screamed at Kami for doing this to her, taking away Hayate from her life. Naruto, meanwhile, was caressing her hair gently while expressing some kind words for Yuugao. His intention was immediately resumed to being there for the woman in hopes of curing her from her depression. The blond felt Yuugao tightening the embrace as to receive more comfort, only for Naruto to understand the hint and bring her head even closer to his body as he continued to caress her hair. Some minutes later, the woman's tears were beginning to subside and she stopped screaming, probably because her vocal cords were beginning to hurt…at least that was what Naruto thought. Yuugao, however, was just feeling comfortable right there on Naruto's chest.

It wasn't long until Yuugao closed her eyes right there and then. Naruto, seeing this, smiled and closed his as well, sleeping with his head on top of hers.

When the sun appeared, Yuugao woke up after, strangely, one of the best sleeps she had in years and looked up to see Naruto there as well with her the entire time. She, then, backed away from him a little bit, while never once stopping to look at his cerulean blue orbs and that big comforting smile of his.

"Feeling better, Yuugao?" – Asked Naruto, before he saw the woman nod with her head. Words didn't need to be exchanged between them now; both would get their answers just by looking at each other.

Both of them heard Jiraiya giggling like a maniac. The man witnessed everything; of course, as he was well-versed in espionage and Naruto and Yuugao both knew that the pervert would definitely put them together on his book in the future, if the frantic scribbling was any indication. It didn't matter, though, as both of them as Yuugao felt like a weight the equivalent of a ton of bricks was lifted from her shoulder and Naruto was just at ease by helping the woman be at ease.

* * *

_AN: Ok that's about it for this chapter._

_Next chapter, Naruto and co. will return to Konoha and my version of the Shippuden series will begin. With a different Naruto, stronger, wiser, faster and....committed __**(who knows, right!!!)**_ _I enjoyed writing about Naruto and Yuugao's interaction and I hope you guys will enjoy reading about it._

_See ya next time_

_**Chapter 9 - Going home**_


	9. Homecoming

**Chapter 9 – Homecoming**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

Konoha was, most of the time, blessed by warm weather which allowed the villagers to always wear light clothes and even allowed a nice time at the lakes. The villagers were having their normal routines, merchants selling their products; friends joining together for food and drinks; girls talking about boys and shopping; guys discussing about martial-arts and well girls. It was as normal as any other place, however that all was ruined by what appeared to be a little kid with a blue scarf around his neck chasing after a black cat, while causing havoc amongst town. This was the second time he was chasing the damn cat and he swore the damn animal would be skinned alive, when he caught it. His team was following from the roof with the intention of catching the cat up front, but Konohamaru reasoned that they didn't want to get their hands dirty, leaving the work all for him.

Suddenly, the cat entered in a darkened alley before stopping because of the huge wall that prohibited him from escaping from his pursuer. It, then, snarled in a pathetic attempt to scare the two approaching genins away, but it was unsuccessful. The little girl with the funny hair pressed the intercom button and communicated that the target was trapped. Hearing this, Konohamaru suddenly jumped from the other side of the wall, before landing graciously on top of the trapped animal, thus capturing his pray…Or so he thought. The animal fought with all his might to hurt the Sandaime's grandson in the worst way possible, but the little guy wouldn't budge. After a while, Konohamaru managed to lock Tora in with his arm, while smiling at finally being able to capture the damn feline. He was smiling like crazy, however the cat managed to free his claws and lashed them at Konohamaru's face with enough fury that caused the little guy to scream from pain.

* * *

**===At the Mission Room===**

Seeing the cat Tora being squeezed like a toy by its owner, the genin team couldn't help but feel bad for the little animal. They, like every genin in Konoha, knew why it escaped a lot. After the Feudal Lord's wife left the premises, Ebisu, the team's Jounin-sensei lashed out at their bad skills for taking too long to chase the cat, meaning more training for them. Moegi, though, protested.

"But sensei, that cat was difficult to trace, he seems pretty used to escaping…"

"I won't hear it, this only proves that you three lack the skills to perform this mission properly" – Ebisu scowled.

Konohamaru, though, took an indignant sit on the ground, before protesting that he couldn't show his real skills in these lame missions, which made Umino Iruka, who was sitting next to the Hokage, explaining that about ninja ranks and mission ranks, which was later seconded by the Hokage, who voiced that only D-ranked mission for now. Obviously, though, Konohamaru protested…

"I can't keep doing these lame missions; after all, I will become the Nanadaime (Seventh) Hokage…"

"Huh? And who will be the Rokudaime Hokage if I may ask?" – Asked Tsunade, clearly interested in what the little guy had to say.

"Who else! Naruto-niichan will be Rokudaime…!"

Ebisu, Iruka and Tsunade were surprised to hear this, since it's been three years since the blond left with Jiraiya of the Sannin**.**

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

As Tsunade, Iruka and now Shizune looked at the genin team leaving the administration building; they couldn't help but imagine the blond.

"It's been three years since he left for real training with Jiraiya-sama, I wonder when he will be back?" –Iruka asked.

Tsunade remained silent for a while, wondering about the blond. Looking at Konohamaru now, she could've swore she saw the same blond brat annoying the hell out of her, but she remembered that after the traitorous ordeal three years prior, she knew that the blond was now different than the exuberant demeanor he always carried within him. She just hoped beyond hope that Naruto was able to maintain his innocence a bit longer, or else Tsunade feared that what made the blond's personality would soon vanish.

"He's scheduled to be back today, I believe….We need him here, though. I feel that some drastic changes will occur soon…" – Tsunade said.

* * *

**===West Gate===**

Leaving the forest path, three shadows approached the village they left behind for so long. Well, at least Naruto and Jiraiya more than Yuugao did; but all of them spent quite a lot of time away from the village. Their clothes remained almost the same, with Naruto being the only one who added another piece. On top of his dark gray shirt, he was now wearing a customized black vest with the red spiral on his back, just like a Jounin style vest, but entirely black. As they entered the village, nostalgia hit both Naruto and Yuugao like wildfire, but whereas you would think Hayate's memories would bombard the woman the second she stepped into the village, instead all she thought was how much she missed her peers at the Anbu and of course, those who graduated with her at the academy.

"It has been three years…"

Naruto was looking around the village as both Jiraiya and Yuugao looked at him with a smile on their faces. Both of them knew how much Naruto loved Konoha and its sights. The woman, though, lost her smile and looked at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, now that I returned, I must present myself at Anbu Headquarters, could you tell Hokage-sama this for me?"

The perverted only nodded, before he saw that Naruto and Yuugao were crossing eyes with each other.

"I'll see you around Naruto…maybe get together sometime for lunch"

"I'd like that very much Yuugao-chan; you can take me to that sushi place you're talking about, say tonight at 8?"

The woman smiled once more, before vanishing within a swirl of leaves, but the message was already delivered. Jiraiya could only smile as he saw his precious student's interaction with Yuugao. Ever since these two bonded back at the waterfall place, their relationship only improved with time, up to the point of even going out six months ago to a village near the capital of Water Country. The pervert was still due to convincing Naruto to tell him how that night went. What the pervert didn't know and probably was dying from curiosity was that the night that they went out was the first time they hooked up with one another. The blond would still daydream about how it was to kiss the gorgeous kunoichi and the fact that Yuugao was smiling the entire time, something clicked that time inside Naruto and he couldn't help but smile in response.

"How many times do I have to ask for you to tell me what happened that night, Naruto? I want to know, please…"

"How many times do I have to say to you Ero-sensei, that's mine and Yuugao-chan's privacy…dear Kami…sometimes I wonder if you're asking this, so that you can use us as characters for your next book?

Jiraiya had the decency to snort at the blond from being caught. His new book, Icha Icha Makeout Tactics was indeed developed by watching Naruto and Yuugao interact with one another. Jiraiya was just thankful that Naruto didn't read his book, otherwise the wiseass would figure it out instantly and…well he didn't want to think about getting the blond angry, not if Yuugao happens to join his side after knowing as well. The subject was dropped as they entered the Administration Building, all keen on talking to Tsunade as soon as possible.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's office===**

Tsunade was now alone in her office when a sudden knock was heard. Giving it no mind, she authorized entrance, before the door opened.

It took only a glimpse of blond hair entering her office to realize just who was at the door. She took a moment to seize him up from head to toe and she was surprised at how much bigger he was now. He was easily her height if not more. Also, he changed his clothes drastically, Tsunade reasoned. She happened to like it in fact and couldn't help but wonder what happened to change his mind about getting rid of those hideous orange clothes. She was by his side in a minute, before enveloping the young man in a fierce hug, which much to her surprise, was returned as she felt Naruto's arms around her.

"I missed you Tsunade-bachan….uh sorry about the name calling, I guess some old habits don't change…hehehe"

"Missed you too brat and I do care about the name, so stop calling me that okay. I can tell you've changed a lot…I'm really glad to see you again" – Tsunade said with a smile on her face as she looked at the younger blond.

Now that the sentimental reunion was over, Tsunade went back to her desk and returned to the Hokage position, before addressing the two once more.

"So, I see you managed to improve, after all?"

"Huh, you're expecting us not to bring any results? You insult my teaching skills Tsu-hime" – Mumbled Jiraiya, earning a smile from the Hokage, before she heard the door knocking once more.

"Excuse me Tsunade-sama, but Shizune…was…Naruto, you're back" – Sakura shouted as she fasten the steps to face the new blond before her and just like Tsunade, she was admiring every bit of this new Naruto, not in the same way, though, as Tsunade was more of a motherly manner and Sakura was…well…moving on.

"Sakura, is been a while? How are you doing?" – Asked Naruto.

Meanwhile, Tsunade and Jiraiya were exchanging some words while looking at the teammates reuniting once more. Jiraiya explained about Yuugao going to Anbu Headquarters and a little summary of Naruto's training trip, including some aspects of Naruto and Yuugao's interaction that shocked Tsunade, but her eyes returned to normal. Surely, Naruto would be able to heal the woman's depression, but she didn't know this relationship would actually be a romantic relationship. After a while, talking, Naruto heard from Tsunade that he was to be tested right away.

"Ok, but how do you want me to show my skills?" – Naruto asked, before Tsunade pointed to the furthest window of the room. The blond, then, opened the window and looked outside for a while, before he spotted his opponent reading that smug book, before greeting the blond.

"You got taller Naruto, that's for sure…I, trust that your training has honed your skills as you desired?"

As Kakashi entered the room, he saw also Sakura.

"You two will be my opponent…" – Kakashi said.

"I want to see how you two will fair against someone of Kakashi's skills…Sakura, show me you haven't been slacking in your training. The fight will occur at Training Ground n. 7 in exactly four hours. Both me and Jiraiya will be there as well to supervise…and Naruto, depending on the skills you show, there will be a reward for you"

Nobody in the room, except for Jiraiya, knew Naruto to look at Tsunade with suspicion and skepticism. Sakura was only waiting for the blond to scream to the heavens about whatever the reward is and challenge Kakashi that he would win for sure. But instead, he just looked at the Hokage with his eyes unmoving and a simple smile on his face.

"Could we perhaps do it now? I kind of have a date with someone and she's kind of hard to find if I were to cancel it"

Sakura was shocked instantly…Naruto on a date, but he just arrived, how could that be? Kakashi was also shocked at this information, since he was having the same thoughts as Sakura. However, one thing occurred to him. He heard that one of his old Anbu Subordinates Uzuki Yuugao joined Naruto and Jiraiya on their travels…but the woman was so fixed on avenging Hayate…no it couldn't be possible? Hopefully, Jiraiya solved the entire situation.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll find her and explain the situation. I'm sure she'll be delighted to see the display" – Said Jiraiya, before he vanished within a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto with a smile as he left the room, with the promise of meeting them on Training Ground Seven.

Sakura was gawking like a fish and so was Kakashi, but Tsunade couldn't help but smile at the blond's actions.

"Well, since that's already out of the way, why don't you two scram out of my office, because I got work to do"

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After leaving the office, Naruto chose to wander around town for a while, as in getting once again adjusted to the sights. Apart from the inclusion of Tsunade's head at the Hokage Monument, nothing much has changed, he reasoned as he passed through the academy and a couple of restaurants and stores that he remembered three years ago. People would wander around chatting happily with friends, lovers, family. Suddenly, he heard Sakura shouting for him to wait, getting his attention, thus stopping in the middle of the street.

"Hey Sakura, what's up?"

The girl took a while to recover from so much running, apparently from chasing Naruto all the way from the Administration Building.

"Naruto…I wanted to catch up with you. You leave for three years and then come back…I want to know what happened, how was it?"

"It was great, Jiraiya-sensei taught me lots of great stuff; I managed to perfect some flaws about my before skills and even managed to add quite a few extra. Actually, I plan to show them in our match against Kakashi-sensei. What about you, though? I'd be wrong to presume you're a Chuunin now?"

Sakura looked at the blond strangely as he was talking. Naruto was just so much different now that she felt like she didn't know him at all; the strange level of confidence, the calm talking, expressing different words than ramen and Hokage.

"Yeah, I managed to pass last year, in Takigakure. Both I and Shino managed to pass, but the others managed at the following exams. Now, out of our academy friends, only you aren't a Chuunin yet, Naruto. Neji recently got promoted to Jounin and it's doing a lot of missions with Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei"

Sakura thought the blond would be shouting mad at the news of being the last one, but instead, he just kept that smile of his, as he continued walking, presumably to his apartment.

"That's nice, Neji is a talented shinobi, I'm sure it was only a matter of time until his talent was noticed by the Hokage. Now, I guess I have to pass the next one and become a Chuunin just like all you guys. Hopefully, I could, perhaps, surpass Neji and become a Jounin as well in the future. Now, I wonder what happened to my apartment since I was gone. After I left, I forgot to ask someone to take care of it for me, so I wonder what a mess it must be right now, wanna help me clean?" – Asked Naruto.

The girl nodded, before they went up the stairs and stopped once they reached his floor. When the door was opened, no one was prepared for the sudden wave of dust to fill their lungs, making both shinobis cough instantly.

"Cough…cough…wait right here Sakura, I'll get inside and open the window, man I can't see a thing inside…"

After he entered, Sakura lost sight of him and wondered if she should've checked his apartment every once in a while. It wasn't until the dust cloud started to vanish that the blond shouted for her to enter. As she got inside, she looked at the window that Naruto mentioned and thanked the heavens for the sudden air entrance that filled the room, cleaning their lungs a bit. Needless to say, the place was a freaking mess. Some clothes tossed on the floor, old ramen cups piled next to the only garbage can which clearly wasn't emptied if the stinking smell was any indication.

"Okay, I almost feel like hiring a Genin team to clean this place, it's a mess in here. Well, let's clean right…..Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"

Instantly, four doppelgangers appeared next to Naruto, and then all five of them started cleaning, each doing a specific task, thus not needing Sakura's help in the end. The original one gathered his old orange jumpsuits in order to burn them all, since he already had a change in wardrobe, one of the clones was responsible for gathering the litter on the ground and throwing in a big garbage disposal located on the building's first floor. Two clones wiped the dust off the wooden floor and some accumulated at the walls. The window needed some cleaning as well, so the forth clone was in charge of that. In little to no time, Naruto's place was already clean and the real Naruto dispelled the clones while clapping his hands signifying the job done.

Sakura, though, just kept watching the clones do all the work and was amazed at the time needed to clean everything and she actually noticed that no spot was left unchecked by the blond which was surprising considering that Naruto was after all a boy and as such, a boy wouldn't be able to clean at certain spots.

"Well, now we can be here, without risk of coughing to death. So, how was your training this last three years?" – Asked Naruto, getting the pink haired girl's attention.

"It was great as well, Tsunade-sama and Shizune-sempai are very strict and in little to no time, the results were already showing up. I managed to learn some medical ninjutsu under their wing and even got to help them at the Hospital, taking care of some patients, although Tsunade-sama is still due to allow me on the more sensitive procedures. I even got some classes in poisons and antidotes from both Shizune-sempai and Anko-sempai. One piece of advice, though, Anko-sempai is stricter than Shizune and Tsunade-sama combined, I mean she literally tossed me on the ground several times, until I learned them. In the end, though, it was for the better as I intend to create antidote for every poison in existence at the Elemental Nations in the future. How about you? Tsunade-sama told me Jiraiya-sama is a master of ninjutsu and even the art of fuuinjutsu, though I don't know much more than the usual sealing scrolls"

Naruto kept hearing everything and smiling through the whole thing. He was wondering about Sakura's sudden change in behavior from that usual short temper of hers, when the blond acted stupid in front of her. Truth to be told, Naruto was wondering if his teammate acted that way because of the things he would do in order to get attention; because now that they were talking like equals, she was much calmer than before, which was strange.

"Jiraiya-sensei was also strict as hell. We did some training with the Rasengan that would send me to unconsciousness almost every day. We sparred almost every day as well and the man helped me in correcting a lot of my flaws regarding Taijutsu and weapon throwing. I'll tell you, boosting of confidence aside, I thought I had it all once I graduated and became a Genin, but after what happened, it showed me that my skills were nothing compared to what it should've been. Luckily, I managed to see them now, right? Also, we used to travel a lot and Jiraiya took me to see some great sights around the elemental nations. There is this place In Water Country called Taki no Sampasu (Waterfall of the Three Paths) and it's very beautiful. We happened to train there for a long time, so that I could get adjusted to strong water currents, while sparring with him. These last three years were very good, indeed, Sakura"

As the conversation continued, Sakura definitely stopped thinking about the differences between this Naruto and the one she came to know. To her, it was like seeing two distinguished personalities, whose comparison was just not possible. So, she settled for knowing this new Naruto and go on from there. It wasn't until Sakura mentioned Sasuke's name that Naruto's usually relaxed expression suddenly changed and the girl noticed instantly. In fact, she was rather uncomfortable in discussing the Uchiha manner with Naruto, because of what the blond told her three years ago, but the fact remained that Sasuke was a part of Team 7 and Sakura wanted the team to be reunited once more, regardless of her feelings for the raven haired boy.

Naruto for his part, though about lashing out at Sakura for trusting someone who didn't think twice about betraying the so called Team 7, but between doing this and risk crushing her heart, the blond choose to be stoic about the subject.

"Sakura, you already know my position in this manner, so it's better for us if we place a mute point in all this. I can see that you're eager to bring him back and although I don't agree with you, I'll respect it, seeing as you are a teammate and a friend. I only hope that he doesn't do to you what he did to me..."

Sakura didn't need to ask what Sasuke did to Naruto at the time, since it was pretty obvious, by remembering Naruto at the Hospital three years ago. However, she was surprised with Naruto's strange and somewhat mature answer to an obvious emotional concern.

"I can see this trip did well to you Naruto, you're definitely more matured than when you left. We better go to the Training Ground, because it's almost time and I don't think Kakashi-sensei will be late this time..."

After the blond offered a nod, they left the premise and went to the Training Ground.

* * *

=**==With Yuugao===**

Right after presenting once more at the Anbu HQ, Yuugao was surprised that her captain Tenzou released her from presenting for duty the first day. Getting some spars with Naruto was alright and kept her from rotting her skills, but she missed the constant rush of Anbu level missions. Now, though, she was with nothing to do, until the blond came by and took her to their date at the sushi place.

To this time, she still was a little lost concerning this rather 'odd' relationship. It all began with Hayate's message from the beyond saying that she'd have to move on and the hidden message that the blond would be a valuable partner. The truth was that after a few dates and conversations throughout the trip, Naruto proved himself time and time again that he was more than a fifteen year old Genin. His opinions were rather mature for his age, she reasoned and, surprisingly, he managed to keep a certain level of conversation that Yuugao is used to have with her peers.

A sudden memory appeared full force in her mind about a special day when he invited her to go the Water Country's capital city as his date and it made her blush madly. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary apart from making out severely. At the time, a sudden desire of flesh appeared in both of them which made Naruto pay the bill sooner than expected, before they rented a hotel room to be together. Just the feel of the blonde's toned body at the time, managed to send shivers to her body.

However, what could have been a perfect night, ended up being cut short because both she and Naruto sensed some strange activity happening and opted to flee the sight from fear that Akatsuki was behind all this, but the thought was forever kept in her mind. As she wandered around town, her eyes caught sight of her role model, or rather what he used to be when a part of the Anbu Corps. Hatake Kakashi was, by all means, a legend of the Shinobi World, as the Copycat ninja Kakashi no Sharingan, although that book he was reading managed to low his reputation around the village; not that the man cared, though, as several people already told him to stop and he paid it no mind.

"Greetings Sempai, it's been a long time since we last met"

Instantly, Kakashi stopped his attention from the book and looked at his former Anbu subordinate, before greeting her with the usual 'yo'.

"Yuugao-san, indeed it's been a while, how are you doing?"

The greeting was okay and all, but Yuugao could very ascertain when someone was coming with bullshit talk with her, before saying what they really want, so it was fair to say that she preferred that the man would stop doing this and go directly to the point.

"Kakashi-sempai, I know you too much for you to just greet me and ask how I am doing. You chose to meet me here, because you were aware this is the path out of the Headquarters. What is it that you want?" - Asked Yuugao, showing no sights of being amused at Kakashi's stoic personality.

"Straight to the point as always...I was hoping to see if we could discuss about a certain blond that from what I hear, has been common knowledge between you and me"

Yuugao looked at the man in front of her incredulously. Kakashi never bothered about others personal lives, seeing as his personal life wasn't that remarkable in the first place. When she was with Hayate, the man wouldn't even lift an eyebrow in surprise after the announcement of their engagement. Nevertheless, figuring out what he wanted to talk about Naruto was better than assuming that he knows about the fact that they were dating.

"Naruto? What about him?"

"I'm already aware of the fact that you traveled with him and Jiraiya-sama for one and a half years and when he came back, he mentioned that he couldn't take too long for an exercise to show the results of his training because he had a date with someone. Now, I know that the blond is growing up and maybe, attract some attention of the female population, but even then, I don't consider him fast enough to arrange a date just after arriving..."

_Kakashi-sempai, seriously...._Yuugao didn't know what to say to the man who considered himself responsible for the blond just because the man was his Jounin-sensei three long years ago and why would he care anyway. Yuugao heard the word 'someone' and smiled slightly at the crafty blond from keeping everyone at a loss on who would the date, but Kakashi linked the dots pretty easily. It didn't matter, though...

"So, you're really quick in assume that because of what he said, I'd be his date, because of the time we spent together? Seriously, Kakashi-sempai, what if Naruto met with a kunoichi from the village when she was on a mission or something"

"You have yet to deny your involvement in this manner, Yuugao" - Asked Kakashi, already sure of the answer, but also because the woman never lost that smile of his, like telling the man it was not of his business who she should date and why.

"You're right, I'm not denying. Indeed Naruto and I are dating, so what's the problem?"

Kakashi's intention, at first, was to give the girl some heads up about dating someone younger than her, and Naruto of all people. However, just like Sakura, Kakashi was under the impression that the boy was just as he was before he left, immature and loud. Yuugao, for instance, was already aware of Naruto's underestimation by his colleagues in thinking that he was a no good loudmouth and rash thinking individual. _Oh man, he thinks he knows Naruto...._

"If you're thinking about the blond's previous behavior, then you of all people should be aware of his intentions at the time, to act like he did. After all, aren't you the creator of the phrase 'look underneath the underneath'.

Kakashi's sudden serious visage told her that maybe Kakashi misinterpreted Naruto's act of ignorance towards his surroundings, so she settled herself to explain better from the man who until now thought he knew about his student's life.

"Seeking attention was everything he carved for, seeing as people either ignored him or sent hateful glares because of what he carries within him. For instance, Kakashi-sempai, would you consider him the same Naruto you know, after he asked you about his skills as a shinobi three years ago? If he was anything like you portrayed him out to be, despite getting beat constantly, he would continue with the same reckless thought over and over again, thus getting killed in the process. You met the real him, albeit briefly, one day prior to his trip with Jiraiya. Now, seeing him today could you compare him with the one you knew?"

Kakashi concurred with everything the woman told, although he didn't show it. It was true that Kakashi was misinformed of the blond's presumably cheerful demeanor, never once displaying a hint of sadness or seriousness in his tone of voice. The man had the decency to sigh in dismay at the sudden revelations.

"Huh...I guess you're right, although I have yet to see this new Naruto you portray him out to be in the midst of battle and only then, will I know that he changed for good, which in fact will occur at exactly fifteen minutes from now at Training Ground #7, he invited you to come watch, since it will get in the way of your date"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes, I just have to change my clothes and put my Anbu uniform. You and only you have knowledge of our relationship, Sempai and for now, I and Naruto agreed that is to remain this way, see ya there"

After saying, Yuugao vanished within a shunshin, thus leaving Kakashi alone thinking about the blond enigma and how different could his fighting skills be.

* * *

**===At Training Ground #7===**

The sun was about to set as Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto looked at each other, prior to the battle that was about to occur. Near a tree, were Shizune and Tsunade looking at them from afar with Jiraiya sitting on top of a tree branch with a lone Anbu member standing on top of said tree branch. To the untrained eye, Naruto was focusing his sight entirely on Kakashi, but his eyes were more inclined to see both Kakashi and Yuugao whose position was exactly passing Kakashi's right shoulder at the moment.

As in being nostalgic, Kakashi suddenly pulled two bells from his pocket, before explaining the rules.

"As you can see, it will be bell test all over again, same objective, same rules. I trust that you now will understand when I say that you have to come at me as if you were after my head and seeing as I have a feeling you two are not to be taken lightly, I will use the Sharingan this time"

Both paid quick attention at the mission objectives while Kakashi strapped the bells on his waist, before placing one hands on his pocket, while observing his opponents. The fight already started, but no side made a move so far. Suddenly, both Naruto and Sakura threw some projectiles towards their sensei, who in turn, jumped by instinct, before taking two kunais since his Sharingan already envisioned the next move. Another barrage of projectiles was thrown at the silver haired sensei, who in turn, managed to deflect with his kunais, before he threw them towards Naruto and Sakura.

Out of the blue, the man started a quick series of hand seals, before the two kunais transformed to ten projectiles, forcing both Sakura and Naruto to evade the barrage; Sakura evading from the left and Naruto doing some back flips. After evading, Naruto and Sakura charged the descending Kakashi from both flanks, being Sakura the one who aimed the first punch, however Kakashi's sharingan advised him to evade the punch from so much chakra being focused.

As the punch passed through, the wave of chakra actually managed to hit the tree and Kakashi wondered what exactly the Hokage taught her. However he didn't have time to wonder as Naruto came by with a reverse kick aiming his left stomach, forcing Kakashi to use his arm to defend, which was surprising considering that the kick wasn't a wasted move.

The silver haired shinobi used brute strength to throw Naruto away from him, before he aimed a strong kick at Sakura, but the girl was already far out of range, before she threw a couple of shurikens at his blind side. Focusing chakra to his legs, Kakashi managed to jump in time, before landing on a tree top as he looked at his students. Their Taijutsu was already high Chuunin material, which caused the man to smirk with a sudden feeling of pride, but then he realized that it wasn't him who taught them, so he chooses to focus at the task at hand.

Suddenly, Kakashi vanished from sight, leaving Naruto and Sakura in the middle of the field, looking around to spot the surprise attack that would surely follow. Sakura, for instance, was now applying what he learned under Tsunade.

"Left? Right? Above? Behind? So, if he's in none of these positions, then..."

She focused all her chakra in one single tenketsu and punched the ground with all her might. As a result, the entire ground exploded upon contact, thus shaking the entire ground, which almost made Naruto lose his balance as he questioned what the hell was that Sakura just did.

This thought was mirrored by a entirely shocked Kakashi who appeared beneath the now destroyed field.

"Kakashi-sensei, I found you"

The man now knew that Sakura learned the secret behind the Hokage's Taijutsu technique and he concluded that being on the receiving end of one punch would mean his end, so better stop kidding around.

Meanwhile, Tsunade was appraising her skills and Jiraiya was muttering silent words about a second Tsunade. Back to the fight, Kakashi was now facing his students, before Naruto summoned two Kage Bunshin all of a sudden. Without even attacking, Naruto screamed the word henge and two windmill shurikens appeared in both his hands in an instant. He threw the first one at Kakashi who dodged it easily to the right, before the blond threw the other one, forcing him to jump, but he managed to dodge them all. However, much to his surprise, Naruto was already in front of him, with a roundhouse kick just seconds away of hitting Kakashi's head.

While being impressed by the blonde's speed, Kakashi managed to defend the powerful kick with his arms, before a kunai suddenly appeared on his hand with the intent of hurting the blond. It was stopped however, as Naruto managed to hold Kakashi's wrist as they descended to the ground, where Sakura was waiting to deliver the punch. Meanwhile, Kakashi was wondering if the girl would deliver the punch with Naruto nearby, when he realized the blond substituted himself with a log nearby, leaving him alone to receive the punch.

It was luck that a tree branch appeared, allowing Kakashi to flip and land a safe distance away from them, before he hid behind a tree, while watching the splendid team work this two were displaying right now. Suddenly, however, a very familiar sound of chakra being summoned into the palm of Naruto's hand, Kakashi got away just in time before Naruto slammed a much bigger Rasengan at the tree, shredding it instantly.

At the stands, both Tsunade and Shizune was gawking like a fish at the fight occurred. Certainly, Naruto and Sakura already knew each other and managed to fight together accordingly, but this was unheard of. Plus the fact that Naruto managed to do a Rasengan without the clone's assistance showed much of his training and skills.

After evading the deadly attack, Kakashi looked at his students while panting a bit. Surely, keeping on Taijutsu wouldn't be a good option for the man, seeing as these two worked well together. Where one would attack, the other would remain as backup and vice-versa, he didn't have a time off with them, so maybe a new approach was preferable.

"Lesson 1: Taijutsu completed, now is time for Lesson 2: Ninjutsu"

Instantly, Kakashi started doing a huge sequence of hand seals with an impressive speed, before he inhaled air into his lungs.

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu **__(Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu)_

He, then, exhaled the technique straight at the two, before he saw that Sakura was about to flee, but stood her ground as the technique approached. Apparently, Naruto said something and she choose to remain. But Naruto couldn't know about....

_**Suiton Suijinheki **__(Water Release: Water Barrier Jutsu)_

As the fireball approached, a torrent of water appeared in front of them, protecting Naruto and Sakura from the incoming attack, before Kakashi stopped the attack, giving the much awaited signal for Naruto for another technique of his own creation.

_**Suiton Suiryuukiba **__(Water Release: Water Dragon Fang Jutsu)_

The same torrent of water used for the barrier technique was suddenly transformed into an enormous water dragon as it charged at Kakashi. The technique frightened the Jounin for a while, before he saw that the dragon was passing a great distance above him, making him smile at the attempt of his student to control such a strong technique. He was under the impression that Naruto did the Suiryuudan no Jutsu, but this technique was different. His Sharingan alerted him of it, as he witnessed the dragon's claw just seconds away from decapitating him, forcing Kakashi to evade to the left. However, the attack managed to hit Kakashi's arm slightly, cutting the man's right sleeve entirely.

He focused his Sharingan on Naruto's smile, before he realized that this was his trick the entire time. Up on the stands, Jiraiya and Yuugao were talking about this new technique and praising Naruto for its usage, while Tsunade and Shizune were trying to see if this was a Genjutsu or something. The Naruto they know wouldn't be able to do Suiton jutsus. Looking at the perverted smirking, she knew the man kept the information until Naruto showed it himself.

Back to the fight, Kakashi was now dodging another barrage of attacks by Naruto and Sakura, while feeling his stamina leaving him with each evading movement. It was time to bring out the big guns now, since Naruto showed his. Landing a kick on Sakura's chin, Kakashi back-flipped as Naruto managed to grab her falling body from hitting on the ground, before he made some hand seals.

_**Raiton Denkou no Ookami **__(Lightning Release: Lightning Wolf Jutsu)_

Seeing the incoming attack, Naruto grabbed Sakura with his arms before jumping away in time to avoid the fast approaching wolf, however his feet weren't as fortunate, which sent thousands of volts to Naruto's system instantly, earning some screams in agony from the blond, but other than that, he was fine. Lucky he was that he had a major wind affinity the likes of which no one knew.

"Sakura, when I say so, you'll move and collect the bells from him, okay?"

The woman obeyed instantly. Naruto was different, hell she didn't even know half the techniques Naruto and Kakashi used and his moves so far spoke highly of his skills.

He, then, got up and Kakashi immediately narrowed his Sharingan eye at Naruto's next move. Suddenly, a vast series of hand seals were being made and Kakashi waited for the eye to tell what would come to him, however the strange thing was that Kakashi just couldn't read Naruto's thoughts. By applying a closer look, Kakashi saw with shock that Naruto wasn't looking at him, but rather his feet, not allowing the sharingan to know what would come.

_**Fuuton Daitoppa **__(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu)_

The man was caught by surprise when his eyes saw a sudden ferocious gust of wind towards him, but it was too late to focus chakra on the ground, as Kakashi was sent flying uncontrollably towards the incoming set of trees. It was worst to Kakashi, because he had a lighting affinity, so wind attacks were his major weakness. A sudden bell noise alerted him, but when he sought to look at the bells strapped on his waist, he saw with shock that it wasn't there anymore. Closing his eyes as in waiting for the impact, he was surprised upon seeing that Jiraiya was there waiting for him with a rather big toad who caught him and placed him gently on the ground.

When looking up, he saw Jiraiya with a smirk.

"I forgot to tell you not to underestimate Naruto, Kakashi. In the end, he gave you quite a fight, didn't he?"

Kakashi was slowly getting up as he saw Naruto and Sakura each carrying a bell while talking to one another. Indeed, Yuugao's words made more sense now; the blond in front of him wasn't the same one he knew…or at least he thought he knew.

Afterwards, Tsunade arrived in the middle of the clearing just as Kakashi arrived at the scene.

"So Kakashi; how is your opinion about their skills as a team?" – Asked Tsunade, though her answer was already certain.

Kakashi closed his Sharingan and looked at his team with a smile on his face.

"Both Naruto and Sakura have what it takes to be form a team and both have Chuunin level skills with Naruto being Jounin in terms of ninjutsu. I'm sure they'll fit your criteria perfectly"

Tsunade and Shizune smiled, before she turned to Naruto and Sakura.

"So, from now on, you two and Kakashi will form Team Kakashi and will be grouped on missions and Naruto…" – Said the Hokage, calling the blond's attention. "As of right now, you're awarded with the position of Chuunin of Konohagakure. Now pay attention, because generally, in order for a Genin to be promoted, he or she must attend the exams, but are occasions when the Hokage, together with the responsible Jounin, can promote the Genin once he show enough skills to give him the Chuunin position and since Kakashi consider you as such, it's my privilege to grant you the position"

The blond was indeed shocked, but he had a feeling the woman wasn't quite done yet.

"Now, a Chuunin is a position of privilege within our ranks and as such, it will be required of you to protect Konoha on the front lines. Also, a Chuunin is to act as captain, so you'll also be drafted to lead a Genin mission outside the village from time to time. I can see that your skills skyrocketed under Jiraiya's guidance and I believe you earned this position. Now, I would give you the Chuunin flak jacket but I see that you already have one, so you can keep it, no problem, any questions?"

…Nope…no questions whatsoever…just the shocked face was evident in his face.

* * *

_**AN: And so the Shippuden series begin...I decided to promote Naruto to chunnin by an act of the Hokage, simply because of some reservations of my own regarding the actual shippuden series. Naruto is now one tough S.O.B, but because of what's now happening in the manga, I'm not even sure there will be another Chunnin Exams, so it's less likely that he'll leave the genin position and advance in rank with his peers.**_

_**Tell me what you think…**_

_**Later…**_


	10. A friend's call for help

_**Author Note**__: For those who already know the pattern regarding my updates, I decided that a little change was in order. For instance, next story would be "Tired", but now I'm going to update this one instead and "Tired" will follow next._

_Now on to the chapter..._

* * *

**Chapter 10 - A friend's call for help**

**Beta: Dreetje**

* * *

After Naruto and Sakura's test against Kakashi, everyone went to their respective homes, but not Jiraiya and Tsunade as the latter invited her teammate for some sake in order to talk about the village's newest Chuunin shinobi. Tsunade was dumbstruck the entire fight and she wanted answers, answers that only he could supply; well Yuugao could as well, but the Godaime wasn't in the mood to ask one of her subordinate Anbu for a bottle of sake…or two for that manner. So, now, both she and the Gama Sannin were pouring cup after cup down their throats, before Tsunade smashed the sake bottle on the table and looked straight at Jiraiya, who by the way was showing, maybe, the biggest grin possible as he knew that Naruto impressed her in more ways than anyone thought possible.

"I take it you want answers about the brat's skills"

The look of sarcasm on her face was enough to satisfy his answer as he smiled and poured one more cup of sake, before smiling at the blond. Jiraiya never thought he would enjoy this so much; the look on her face, daring him to speak or else she would take action was too much to his drunken state, but he knew not to push her buttons any longer, since Tsunade had quite a short temper and could land quite a punch at his jaw.

"What did you expect Tsunade, three years ago I told you that he had potential to be great; you saw the results yourself, didn't you?"

"Yeah I did, but his growth is unheard of dammit. In three years, he managed to correct every flaw he had regarding Taijutsu and weapon accuracy; he learned and mastered two elements and I happen to know, from his file, that he's attuned to the wind element, not both wind and water. He learned a new element from scratch, don't tell me you don't think this surprising, even Minato took longer to learn the lightning element and he was considered the strongest shinobi in existence. Come on Jiraiya, spill it!"

Tsunade was getting irritated at each passing second with Jiraiya's nothing but vague answers. The man for his part felt the urge to tell about Naruto's "other" skills, but then, he would actually fear for his life. The Godaime was already impressed with what she saw of Naruto's skills; there wasn't any need to further fill her agony right now in understanding all this, especially when her mind was already emerged in alcohol, thus devoid of any rational judgment.

"Okay, Tsunade calm down for a second and I'll explain. Time is a hard reality for shinobi; you and I both know that. It takes a long period of one's dedication and compromise in order to learn a certain skill, yet alone master one. However, because of the blond's abundance of chakra, time doesn't apply to him the same way as it does for us. You would do well to remember the usage of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, his signature move" – By this, Tsunade was already drawing to the needed conclusions, but Jiraiya continued the explanation. "Kage Bunshin was mostly used for reconnaissance, simply because whatever memory the clone gathers, it's immediately transferred to the original, upon being dispelled. Now, with Naruto's chakra capacity, he isn't limited to four, five or six clones. He can summon two hundred of them and still possess the chakra to train his techniques. Now, with one real and one clone, you do a task half the time needed; imagine the same principle with a hundred clones. The blond trained in three years the equivalent of ten years easily".

The woman had the decency to be shocked at the number of clones Naruto manages to create and still possess enough chakra to train on his own. However, this ability was unheard of in Tsunade's opinion. If such ability was real, then there wasn't anything Naruto couldn't learn with the help of his clones. Looking at her teammate's eyes, she was getting suspicious; true Naruto did accomplish a lot already Taijutsu, elemental ninjutsu, weapon accuracy…but what if the blond had more up his sleeve? Surely, the Chuunin could've used his skills with clones to learn a totally different new art. Looking at him with a smug look on her face, Tsunade questioned the man while holding the sake bottle on her left hand.

"Okay Jiraiya, I'm convinced of the blond's growth, but we're talking about the skills that he showed throughout the fight against Kakashi. What of the rest, Jiraiya? Certainly, with the Kage Bunshin style of training, Naruto could certainly learn other valuable skills that would better mold his skills as a shinobi"

The pervert had to smile at his teammate's deduction, not enough for him to tell about Naruto's skills in dispelling mid to high level Genjutsu as well as in wielding the bo-staff.

"Surely, he would show everything he has learned at the fight against Kakashi, Tsunade. You can't fight someone of Kakashi's caliber and even still manage to hide his skills. We focused, mainly, on those two elements and his Taijutsu. We sparred every day until we returned and Yuugao helped as well. She managed to correct one flaw with his stance as well as helped him with suiton manipulation. She was greatly beneficial to his training, you know"

Jiraiya knew what he was doing by adding Yuugao to the conversation. By adding her name, Tsunade forgot entirely about Naruto's hidden skills and thought about a relationship between an Anbu captain and a Chuunin. The Hokage, for her part, frowned at the pervert's sudden change in discussion, but didn't create a fuss over it. She was just as interested in the blond's romantic relationship as she was regarding the blond's shinobi abilities.

"Speaking about Yuugao, what…or rather how did it happen? I mean, before she would go on suicidal mission after another in hopes that some lucky kunai would slice her jugular" – Tsunade said.

"I still don't know Tsunade. Ever since she started travelling with us, she and Naruto quickly formed a bond of friendship. Every day, both of them shared a lot of stories together, until one day, I wake up to see they both hugging each other. Afterwards, feelings started to bloom for one another. One thing that both the gaki and Yuugao have in common is that they could keep a secret better than anyone I've seen and that's saying a lot, considering my spying network. There was one night they went out in Water Country's capital that I still want to hear about. The damn brat just won't tell a thing, dammit"

Jiraiya's mumbling managed to get a rise out of Tsunade as she, then, poured some sake down her throat.

"Serves you right pervert, stop messing in other people's lives. Now, that's enough drink for me, I'm afraid. I'm going home to have some sleep before Shizune comes barging in lecturing me to stop drinking"

Once Jiraiya paid for the huge tip, both Sannin went on different ways with Jiraiya knowing that Tsunade was safe, considering that Anbu was following her every step, preventing the almighty Godaime Hokage from making silly mistakes that could endanger her image regarding both the village as well as others throughout the elemental nations.

* * *

**===Next Day===**

The next day, at his Office, Tsunade was reading the mission requests while rubbing her temples, in hopes of reducing the painful hangover she was feeling right now. It was even worse since, on top of the alcohol still lingering inside her blood vessels, she still had to hear her assistant's nagging voice, lecturing her to stop drinking, especially because of her status as Godaime Hokage. Looking at a B-ranked mission request, Tsunade was still rubbing her temples as she realized what the mission entailed. Clearing her mind of her pain, Tsunade smiled finding the right time to test the newly formed team.

"Shizune…Shizune, call the shinobi written in this mission request for me A.S.A.P, will you?"

The black haired woman frowned at the lack of control in the Hokage's voice, but took the mission scroll, before looking at the people designated for the mission. With a smile on her face, she assigned one Anbu to get the Jounin that will be responsible for the assignment as well as his team.

* * *

**===At Naruto's house===**

Naruto was having a peaceful slumber as the clock near his bed showed it was already seven o'clock in the morning. Usually, Naruto would have to meet his team at only ten or twelve, if Kakashi's tardiness wasn't yet cured. Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door, jerking him out of bed instantly while mumbling some curse words at the damn morning lover who would think of waking him at…_**seven o'clock in the morning. **_Okay, now the blond was pissed as he marched towards the door with very intent on knocking some sense into this person's mind, except if Yuugao were to make a surprise visit, then the blond wouldn't be mad.

Opening the door in a normal manner, Naruto was half expecting to see Yuugao, only to see a silver haired Jounin waving his hands in a greeting manner.

"Morning Naruto…"

It took a while for the scene to be registered in Naruto's mind. He knew the clock wasn't broken…it was seven o'clock in the morning right now, the sun was just now getting up and the birds were beginning their morning songs of joy. With all this adding up, it was impossible for someone like this guy to show up this time of the hour. Kakashi, for instance, was looking at the blond's questioned looks with a frown on his face, as his students had so little expectation from their sensei. It made matters worse when Naruto moved his hands to dispel a supposed Genjutsu, before Kakashi had to intervene and prove that it was real.

"It's not a Genjutsu, Naruto. We have a mission, get dressed. I'll be right here"

"Sorry, if I was a little shocked Kakashi-sensei, I'll be ready in a few minutes" – Naruto said.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

Half an hour later, Team Kakashi was joined in front of Tsunade and Shizune as the Hokage addressed the mission that they were about to undertake.

"Team Kakashi, we've received call from a city ten miles northeast from here, near the Fire Country's capital city. The Fire Daimyo would normally send his samurai to investigate, but he passed the mission to us instead. It's a B-ranked mission consisting of releasing the village from a group of missing-nins from Amegakure that are terrorizing over there. Proceed with utmost caution, from what I understand from the mission request; their group is quite extensive, probably two to one. Oh and they managed to capture the village mayor's ten year old daughter. You three are to leave immediately, any questions?"

The Chuunin on the team nodded their heads in the negative as Kakashi was reading the mission scroll with a relaxed and a somewhat bored visage on his face, before he faced the Godaime Hokage.

"Any known skills we should be aware of?" – Kakashi asked.

"We're talking about civilians here Kakashi; they wouldn't be able to give us a thorough report on what ninja techniques they're using. We're lucky to at least know their numbers. Team Kakashi is to leave right now"

Suddenly, two amounts of leaves and a small tornado appeared in Team Kakashi's place, before they vanished via shunshin, towards the mission at hand, leaving Shizune and Tsunade alone as the Hokage turned to the next mission assignment. The Hokage was without a care in the world as she assigned a Genin team to handle a C-rank document delivery mission, before Shizune decided to interrupt. She was worried for the mission that Team Kakashi was about to undertake.

"Tsunade-sama, wouldn't it be better to send another team with Team Kakashi. The missing-nins are quite a few for a three man cell?" – Shizune asked, before hearing Tsunade's warm laughter.

"Do not worry Shizune, Kakashi is one of this village's elite Jounin and Sakura was tutored by both of us, she'll be fine. Last but not least, there is Naruto. The pervert confided me some information about his training and I can say for sure, is that no one deals against groups of shinobi enemies, better than him. You saw him yesterday, didn't you? That brat surprises me every day and this mission will be a piece of cake for them. Now, call me Ebisu's team, I have an errand for them to run"

After Shizune left the office, Tsunade was remembering what the pervert said to her, before they left the bar last night.

* * *

**===With Team Kakashi===**

After leaving the Administration Building, Team Kakashi were jumping through rooftops towards the east gate. According to the scroll, time was of the essence in this manner; the entire village was being bullied by the missing-nins and they even have the mayor tied down, because of **her** daughter being kidnapped. Both Naruto and Sakura were aware of the sensitive situation they were in as the last few buildings passed by them before handling the documents to the Chuunin on duty at the gate.

It wasn't long until they went back to the sky, but instead of rooftops, team Kakashi now was travelling through the heavy forest that surrounded the village. The temperature was staggering, but with the speed they were travelling, the wind gathered was more than enough to cool their skin enough to withstand the heat. Not that it mattered, though, as they were born in Fire Country and this hot temperature is common this time of the year. One person, in particular, was enjoying in comfort silence, the great many sights that surround the hidden village in the leaves. The almost quiet but smooth sound of a river that crossed the forest as well as the glistering image of the sun being reflected on the water; the animals minding their own business as all of them decided to refresh their bodies because of the extremely hot temperature.

Their travel would last another twenty minutes so Naruto had enough time to administer the sight that he could lay his eyes on.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Kakashi were paying close attention to both the path ahead and the blond on their left flank. The day before, Naruto had still to show his face in Konoha, both Kakashi and Sakura were caught wondering about the other member of their group. How much did the blond change? What did he see on his travel that changed him so much?

These questions kept plaguing their minds constantly as they saw the blond looking at all directions with a comfort smile on his face, like he was in peace with the world around him. It was a strange sight; whereas before you would see a guy with unlimited amount of energy, jumping constantly and screaming to the heavens about his undying wish of becoming the next Hokage; now all that energy have seemingly vanished without a trace and it was unsettling to see. Especially for Sakura of all people. The old Team Seven suffered like no other with the betrayal of their comrade Uchiha Sasuke and yet, seeing Naruto like this without a care in the world, kind of forced her to believe that Sasuke never existed in the first place…kind like their time as a team never existed.

Kakashi looked at Sakura's saddened face, before looking forward as their objective was getting closer by the minute.

The Jounin was equally puzzled with Naruto's new behavior…new way to see things. His most important goal upon taking on a team was to teach them the value of teamwork above all other skills. Granted, Sasuke was to blame for this situation, but while he understood that Naruto changed…he now realized something ironic.

He liked the old Naruto more…

The silver haired Jounin couldn't help but feel this way. Yes, back there he was brash, annoying and hyperactive like no one, but his compromise with never giving up despite it all, caused Kakashi to smile at his student. Now, it's like he turned from oil to water. This new Naruto was reserved, kept things to himself, definitely skilled if what Kakashi saw the other day was any indication. He stopped his wonderings as he saw a village on the horizon with a couple houses and a small business center. He couldn't detect any presences at all, but Kakashi had enough experience to be able to detect when an enemy is concealing their chakra so as not to get caught by the opponent. Signaling with his hands, the group stopped to a halt as the mission leader turned to address his subordinates.

"Okay, we are a few miles outside the village, so I'll be briefing you two on the mission specs, so bear with me for a second, since I won't enjoy repeating"

Kakashi looked at the two, who in turn, demonstrated their utmost attention, which pleased Kakashi as he managed their full attention.

"According to the mission request, the enemies are up to ten missing-nins from villages we're still unaware of, so we'll be playing safe at first, gauging their strength. Also, they happen to hold the entire village as hostages for their little scheme, so it will be up to us to get rid of these missing-nins. What's most important, right now, is that these guys could either be narrow-minded thugs with shinobi training or deadly killers with an A or higher status on the bingo book. If the latter happens, we have no choice other than to retreat and call for backup of another team before returning. Now, seeing as Sakura is the medic-nin of the group, she'll be on the supportive side, in the back, with Genjutsu and weapons. That leaves the fight for us Naruto"

Sakura was a smart girl and she could catch things at almost the same pace as Shikamaru and the man was considered a genius amongst the Chuunin population. Therefore, she managed to notice the look the two shared with each other. It was definitely different than before…Kakashi and Naruto was displaying trust in one another against ten missing-nins. She just prayed that these two would be alright.

"Fine by me, Kakashi-sensei" – Naruto said with excitement, which earned a nod from Kakashi. True, in person, Kakashi wished Naruto didn't change much, but he didn't have one negative bad of the blond's skills at the moment and that's saying much in his book.

"Okay...let's proceed with caution for now. As soon as we arrive, both of you must be ready for any kind of trap. Let's go now"

As soon as the order reached their ears, the three vanished in a blur, before arriving in the middle of the village's business center. The place was better described as being abandoned for god knows how many years. No presence that could be seen, no voices that could be heard, nothing.

"Think they left the place with the villagers as hostages? Are we too late?" – Sakura asked, but both Naruto and Kakashi managed to sense a great number of chakra looming inside the houses. It was like the enemy was just waiting for the group to spring the trap, before moving in for the kill. It was when Naruto placed his foot just passed the business center that the ground started to crumble out of a sudden. The team wasn't keen of waiting to see what would happen, so each of them jumped on top of a house, just seconds before all hell broke loss.

The noise was the signal, Naruto considered as they heard the sound of doors breaking under the pressure of one kick, before the group attacked the Konoha team with shurikens and deadly other projectiles towards what seemed the strongest of the team, namely Naruto and Kakashi. The silver haired Jounin parried every projectile with deadly precision by using two kunais on each hand, but Naruto was impaled by all of them, quite to everyone but Kakashi's surprise, before his body was replaced by a log as the blond appeared by the jounin's side.

Kakashi stiffened upon seeing one of the missing-nins looking at him with a smile on his face. The man was tall; heavily build with a scar crossing his forehead. The Ame (Rain Hidden Village) scratched forehead protector was located around the man's neck as his black scythe was screaming bloody murder. Naruto saw the look in Kakashi's face and asked away.

"Do you know him Kakashi-sensei? – Naruto asked, before seeing his sensei briefly nodding, while never taking his eyes away from this terrible enemy.

"Only in the bingo book…A-ranked missing-nin Aomaru, Ame's Maruishi (Boulder). Actually, the one who managed to beat him was Orochimaru, even before facing Hanzou of the Salamander and being, latter, nominated as one of the Sannin. Sakura…" – Said Kakashi, getting the woman's attention as she listened intently. "Right now, our priority is to find the mayor's daughter as well as the villagers to make sure they're alright. Me and Naruto will remain and fight this group. Out of the ten, only Aomaru represents danger, so I'll take him…Naruto, you'll be up against the rest nine. They're genin to low-chunnin level, nothing I know you can't handle, right?"

Only a smile was needed, before Sakura vanished within a blur to look for the little girl's location. Naruto, for his part, smiled at this scenery…fighting multiple opponents was what he trained so hard for these last three years.

One of the enemies, when seeing the girl vanish, was about to go look for her, but was stopped by Aomaru who ordered him to take care of the blond, much to Kakashi's surprise. Aomaru, Ame's Maruishi, A-ranked missing-nin was eyeing Naruto, a tough fighter, but a Chuunin still. Looking at the blond, Kakashi was surprised when Naruto grabbed a blue scroll strapped with red tape, before he unwrapped it and extended the scroll in mid-air. Immediately, smoke filled their position, before Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise as the imposing black bo-staff now in Naruto's grasp as he fell into a battle position stance. Kakashi would be surprised by the sudden new skill, but he has other concerns at the moment.

Naruto noticed the stare he was receiving from the enemies and even Kakashi's. He knew this would shock his sensei, considering that he had yet to use his bojutsu in a fight next to the silver haired Jounin. Nevertheless, his concerns landed on the nine Ame missing-nins. Of course none of them looked like much, but whereas Naruto would have no trouble fighting one on one, but definitely one against nine was a challenge to say the least.

"I'm not going to ask how or when you learned how to wield the bo-staff and I won't ask why you thought better than not telling about it to me beforehand. What I'm going to ask is for you to be careful Naruto. I'll be extremely occupied with Aomaru and I won't be able to provide cover…" – Kakashi said, before seeing Naruto smile in appreciation.

"Don't worry Kakashi-sensei; I trained a lot these last three years on how to take on multiple enemies. I'll be fine!"

Kakashi nodded his hand in positive, before focusing all his attention on Aomaru, who for his part was looking directly at Kakashi, as if the rest of the world wasn't suddenly important. However, the same moment he diverted his attention away from Naruto, the blond began a huge series of hand seals in order to divide the fight and let Kakashi alone with his opponent.

_**Fuuton Daitoppa **__(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu)_

The wind suddenly picked up, alerting Kakashi to the usage of chakra, before he turned to Naruto. Just as he did so, Naruto exhaled a strong gust of wind that managed to send all the opponents flying away from the vicinity, except Aomaru who had enough experience with wind users to focus some chakra to his feet in order to stick to the ground. Nevertheless, he prided himself of being cautious and in the end, this mysterious blond proved to be quite the opponent.

Kakashi had to smile at his student, though he had more important matters to take care of. Naruto, at this time, had already vanished within a small tornado probably towards the position where the others went, thus leaving the two strong opponents alone in a deserted city.

"I was hoping that Konoha would send someone strong to defend this pathetic excuse of a village. I'm glad they sent you, Sharingan no Kakashi. I'll be testing my skills against you" - Aomaru said, starting the challenge.

"Surely, you already battled against tougher opponents than me Aomaru. No matter, though, you won't get out of here alive, Aomaru"

After accepting the challenge, Kakashi fell into a Taijutsu stance, while observing his opponent. The man was obviously built for close to mid range fighting, so Taijutsu wasn't exactly the best alternative of engagement. Plus, the fact that Naruto is facing nine enemies at the same time worried Kakashi, but he didn't have a choice, but to trust the blond.

"There is been twenty years since I faced that snake, Kakashi. After that, no one gave me the rush of a true fighting. You'll provide this for me"

"Enough talking, let's get this over with" - Kakashi said as he lifted his headband, revealing the almighty Sharingan.

* * *

**===With Sakura===**

Away from the fighting, Haruno Sakura was searching for clues within the village territory in order to locate the mayor's kidnapped daughter as well as the rest of the villagers, seeing as the missing-nins captured them all. She didn't want to leave her comrades behind, but orders were orders as she happened to take great pride in being loyal.

The houses were in bad condition, but as she entered in one of the houses, she was dumbstruck to see blood on the ground, pointing towards the windows, as if whoever it was, was dragged away by the missing-nins. Upon looking at the window, she managed to follow the path of blood through the grassy field, quite to her surprise, since a little rain would wipe this blood away instantly.

She shrugged this thought away and followed the path, weary of the presumably obvious clue. Certainly, not even an academy student wouldn't be able to spot the path of blood, thus Sakura was only waiting for a trap to trigger as she followed the path. Eventually, the trail of blood stopped and Sakura looked up to see a cave a few hundred meters in front of her with one man guarding the entrance. Immediately, she rushed to hide behind a canopy tree right next to her.

She waited a bit until she was certain that the man didn't spot her position, before she moved through the foliage, until she was at striking distance with the guard. Taking a shuriken from her holster, she threw with utmost proficiency at a specific point in the man's neck, killing him instantly. The noise he made upon falling on the ground gave her the signal to appear, before she checked his vitals to assure that he was dead. As a medic-nin, Sakura loathed the necessity of killing the enemy, but as both Shizune and Tsunade taught her, sometimes you have to kill one in order to save a thousand. Not that Sakura enjoyed hearing that, however it's in her profession's nature to kill when needed of her. Steeling her resolve, she entered the cave, before she smiled upon seeing a group of frightened people staring at her in fear.

"Do not fear, everyone, we're ninjas from Konoha. We're here to free you, let's go"

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After Naruto appeared at the clearing, the enemies stared at him with concentration, due to his wind attack earlier. The enemies dressed up pretty much the same. Gray flak jackets with black paints and the usual mask every Ame-nin possesses in order to breathe below water. The only difference between each other was the facial features and their hair with some being raven and a few blonds.

Before the Konoha Chuunin could assess their strength, his enemies charged with intent to kill written all over their face. Quietly grabbing the bo-staff, Naruto started spinning it until it formed a circle spin, while at the same time focusing Fuuton type chakra through his weapon's length.

Just as the enemies were about to arrive and kill the blond, his jutsu sprang to action, forming a concentrated gust of wind out of the staff that enveloped everyone.

_**Fuuton Reppushou no Hageshii **__(Wind Release: Violent Gale Wind Jutsu)_

The jutsu itself didn't possess a offensive purposes, so Naruto's intention was to keep the entire group from attacking him together, allowing him to strike each one with his bo-staff. Taking advantage of the enemy's disorientation, the blond managed to land a powerful strike at one of them on the shoulder, before he heard the sound of bone cracking under pressure, followed by a huge scream of agony.

As the blond went for the second one, a hail of kunais charged at him from the left, forcing him to abandon his charge and fall into defensive position, deflecting the projectiles by effectively positioning his weapon. After the projectile attack, Naruto charged the ones who threw them, while swirling his staff behind his back. The two responsible for the projectiles offensive charged as well, but unlike Naruto, both of them were making hand seals, finishing it with the dragon hand seal, before gathering water chakra inside their bodies.

_**Suiton Mizutama**_ _(Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu)_

Out of nowhere, the two enemies shot numerous water bullets towards Naruto, who managed to dodge a few, before jumping in mid-air to avoid the rest. However, as he was about to attack the two with his staff, two came from behind and tried to attack him with spinning kicks aiming for the blond's head. To the Ame-nins surprise, one kick landed, but when they were about to pound Naruto further, before they realized with fear that a log was in his place.

The real Naruto now seeing the four in front of him and another three closing by from his right flank, quickly summoned two Kage Bunshin that managed to stop the ones from behind, before doing a sequence of four quick hand seals. He approached his hand close to his mouth in order to concentrate his next attack.

_**Fuuton Kaze Dangan **__(Wind Release: Wind Shot Jutsu)_

The numerous wind shots charged the four missing-nins in front of him with speeds unheard of, before hitting the enemies' dead on. And because of wind's abilities, the bullet landed on the enemies' legs, opening a huge hole on it. The four were taken care of, to say the least. Just a little pressure to their leg was enough to pour a large quantity of blood followed by an unbearable pain. This allowed Naruto to charge at them and land powerful strikes on their shoulders, dislocating it and taking them, definitely, out of commission.

The remaining four looked at the blond with fear as he now stood in front of them with a steeling resolve. Their peers were all hit on the shoulder and were on the ground, unconscious. The ninja in front of them was on a whole other level, so they needed to use everything they have in order to beat him. Naruto was about to charge when all four of them started making hand seals, but what alarmed Naruto was the last hand seal used.

_Tiger...damn Katon jutsu – _Naruto thought as he quickly made a series of hand seals of his own to parry the blow, before he sensed the usage of chakra in front of him.

_**Katon Kaenhoushaki **__(Fire Release: Flamethrower Jutsu)_

Much to Naruto's surprise, the four techniques managed to merge with one another, doubling the size of the flame beam. The blond managed to finish the dragon hand seal just in time, before he managed to gather as much chakra as he could to strengthen his defense.

_**Suiton Suijinheki**__ (Water Release: Water Barrier Jutsu)_

Just as the fire attack was about to reach Naruto, the water barrier rose in front of him, stopping the fire beam attack from advancing, but because of the joined efforts, Naruto's jutsu proved too weak to parry and his defense wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, forcing Naruto to jump up high and avoid the attack, before watching in morbid fascination as the attack managed to explode a huge rock behind him. The blond was caught by surprise when he felt the temperature rise, before he turned and faced the mighty of a grand fireball technique. Being on the air prevented him from evading, so he was enveloped entirely, much to the enemy's smirk, seeing as the blond did cause a lot of trouble for the group.

However as soon as the group turned to see their master, they were head to head with Naruto crossing his arms in a bored manner. Said attitude was met with question marks followed by shouts from the Ame missing-nins, since they saw the Chuunin being enveloped by the grand fireball technique. Naruto, for his part, smiled at the group's inability to understand what happened up there, so he set himself to explain, seeing as he was about to end this fight anyway.

"That attack actually did take me by surprise; I'd say congratulations are in order. I had very short time to make Kage Bunshin and replace positions with him. Now…" - Naruto said as he started a huge and fast series of hand seals, thus alerting the enemies. One didn't want for Naruto to finish the sequence, so he charged at the blond, quite expecting the Chuunin to stop the hand seal sequence and block any eventual strike that may come after him, but to the man's surprise, Naruto's resolve never faulted as he went through hand seal after hand seal, before he focused on the bird hand sign.

_**Fuuton Atsugai**__ (Wind Release: Pressure Damage Jutsu)_

Instantly and with but a surge of both his hands, Naruto exhaled a wide camp of compressed wind towards the enemies, who for their part, couldn't escape. The compressed wind was gaining power from Naruto's chakra as it sliced and shredded everything in its path, leaving nothing standing; trees, flowers, grass, human bodies. Still, the compressed wind field took a while to stop as it leveled the entire clearing in less than a minute. Satisfied with the results of his wind training, Naruto turned to where Kakashi and Aomaru were fighting. Surely, air pressure manipulation was the hardest theory to grasp and surely Soujiro-sensei would be proud to see Naruto's performance.

* * *

**===With Kakashi===**

Back at Kakashi's fight, both he and Aomaru reached a stalemate at the center of the village with Kakashi holding a kunai and Aomaru a broad kodashi. Just after Naruto left, an only ninjutsu fight began; Kakashi with every trick in the book so far acquired by his Sharingan and Aomaru, surprisingly, with only Doton ninjutsu. And while the silver haired Jounin possessed a entire arsenal of Raiton ninjutsu, Aomaru would simply dodge or evade by merging within the ground.

When it was clear that they would reach a stalemate in the ninjutsu department, Aomaru attacked Kakashi with straight out Taijutsu with his kodashi for a supporting edge. Kakashi was faster with the Sharingan, but every blow he managed to land on Aomaru was like he was kicking and punching a damn rock. The Sharingan user couldn't for his life figure out what was happening, but he couldn't let himself give up. Like him, Aomaru wasn't having much luck. The Konoha Jounin was ten times faster than he would ever be, so every blow he prepared for, Kakashi would be two steps ahead of it, thus dodging effortlessly.

Getting frustrated with the useless assault, Aomaru used brute strength and managed to throw Kakashi out of balance long enough for him to use one last jutsu that will assure his victory. Doing a four sequence hand seal, he, then, slammed his hands on the ground with enough force that managed to create a small hole.

_**Doton Jishin no Jutsu **__(Earth Release: Earthquake Jutsu_

The results were much appreciated as the ground started shaking with utmost intensity, making Kakashi lose even more balance, almost on the verge of falling on the ground. Aomaru wasn't stupid enough to waist this gold opportunity as he charged with his kodashi with the intent of slicing the famous Sharingan no Kakashi's head off. The man knew his opponent was dry of resources of defending himself, if his wide eyes were any indication. However, just before Aomaru's kodashi landed inches away from Kakashi's jugular, he heard something that made his skin crawl. Seconds later, he looked to his right to see a water dragon coming from his left side, before hitting him full force, sending the missing-nin flying towards the nearest tree forest, where he ended up hitting his head, before reaching unconsciousness.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu **__(Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)_

Kakashi was surprised at what happened, before he turned to see his blond student landing next to him so as to check on his sensei.

"Are you okay, sensei?" – Naruto asked as he extended his hand to help Kakashi get up.

The silver haired jounin took a first look at his student and saw the battle marks on his clothes and even on his skin, which meant he also had a fierce battle of his own. Smiling at his student for actually saving his life, Kakashi rushed to Aomaru's position and started focusing lightening chakra on his right hand for the killing move. By this time, Sakura and the villagers arrived, before she greeted her teammate and sensei to report the mission well-done. By this time, though, Kakashi already delivered his Raikiri blow to Aomaru's heart, before sealing him to be taken into Konoha's custody.

The mayor, at the end, appreciated the Konoha team for saving their village to which Kakashi replied by saying that they were happy to be of help.

Afterwards, Kakashi Sakura and Naruto returned at a normal pace towards their home village. The mission started as B-ranked, but with Aomaru's presence, it turned to an A-ranked mission. Sakura pouted because her job didn't require much action other than swiftly killing the guard covering the cave entrance, so she ended up asking questions about her teammate and sensei's piece of the action. Unfortunately, both weren't very attentive to details, which actually infuriated her to no end. Naruto just faced nine enemies on his own and the only thing he told her was that he used a couple of Fuuton jutsus, managing to overcome the enemies, but Kakashi knew better. He was the one who saw the bo-staff on Naruto's hand and the fact that the blond's stance was nothing less than jounin skills.

Nevertheless, he chose to stay silent in this whole manner, seeing that he would have other opportunities to question Naruto about it in the future. After a few more hours, Konoha's impossibly penetrating walls surrounded by dense foliage. Upon arriving, they were few things Team Kakashi wanted to do, seeing as this wasn't a long-term mission or anything. They left in the morning and returned a few minutes to sundown, so besides reporting to the Hokage about the mission, there wasn't much to do. Sakura would do her hospital shift later at night and Kakashi was about to finish the last issue of Icha Icha Tactics. Speaking of the book, Kakashi thought that this one was the best one yet. The characters Nagashi and Yugito were a part of a special organization that was responsible for maintaining the security in Fire Country's capital. One time, they went in a mission together and immediately bonded to sexual levels that, according to Kakashi, contained the best sexual scene ever.

Little did he know, though, that the characters Jiraiya based off were real and he happened to meet both of them.

Naruto, actually was the only one of the three that happened to have plans for tonight which didn't include either reading his novel alone at home or spend the night inside some hospital. Yesterday, he didn't have time to accompany Yuugao to that sushi place she was telling so much about and tonight happens to be the time when her team gets the night off to enjoy themselves. So, Naruto only had to report to the Hokage and he was ready to go home and change his clothes to, later, meet with his girlfriend. Probably, that's why he was smiling from ear to ear as the group crossed the gate, before presenting the necessary documentation to the Chuunin responsible for gate keeping.

* * *

**===At Konoha===**

After presenting the documents at the gate, Team Kakashi went straight to the Hokage's office where the report was handled, directly to Tsunade's ears. Normally, the Hokage didn't need an oral report presentation from its shinobis, but when missions regarding other villages security within Fire Country's territory, it's the Hokage's responsibility to conjure a summary report and send it straight to the Fire Daimyou

The report indicated that neither of the three ninjas had any trouble dealing with the enemies, except from Kakashi's momentary lack of concentration which lead to Aomaru almost killing the silver haired Jounin if it weren't for Naruto's prompt response with a high level Suiton jutsu. Tsunade was skeptical about Naruto's part of the mission, seeing as he just faced nine missing-nins without breaking a sweat.

She was more than curious with the blond's real capabilities and she hoped that this mission would force him to show said skills to the public. But, since no one, from the team, was present to witness his fight, she was forced to take his word for it, much to her frustration. She knew something was wrong and both he and Jiraiya were hiding something, but the question was why?

Sure, a ninja's profession is deception and hiding their skills is the difference between killing and be killed. Nevertheless, as Hokage, she should be aware of her ninjas' abilities, for assignment issues. Tsunade sighed in resignation as she couldn't do anything right now, so she dismissed the team with the order of presenting tomorrow for another mission, before everyone, but Sakura, vanished from the office. The girl was to head towards the Hospital and Shizune would accompany her there.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

With hands on pocket, Naruto was walking aimlessly throughout the streets of Konoha. Looking at the time, he supposed he had a few more hours before he had to leave home to meet with Yuugao at the sushi place. Suddenly, he spotted two familiar faces coming his direction, so he decided a greeting was in order.

However, both friendly faces took a while to recognize the blond, much to his snort, seeing as he didn't change much...or did he?

"Dammit Shikamaru, it's me Naruto" - Naruto shouted at both Shikamaru and Temari, while the former kept looking at the blond with a questioned gaze.

"Ohh Naruto, I didn't recognize you there. When did you return from your trip?"

Temari, for her part, looked at the blond in front of them and wondering if this was the same blond shrimp that wanted to take on everybody and the same one who managed to save her brother from himself.

"Just yesterday...my team and I already had a mission today, A-ranked. Huh, not that is any of my business and all, but why are you together? This isn't a date, right? Shikamaru is too lazy for that"

The pineapple headed Chuunin snorted at the commentary, but Temari bit him too it with the explanation.

"A date? No, hell no!" - Once again, Shikamaru snorted at how much troublesome blonds he knows, before she continued. "...Since the agreement with Suna and Konoha was signed, I was nominated ambassador from my village. Also, both villages assigned me and this lazy ass over here to organize the Chuunin Exams"

"What reminds me, Naruto..." - Said Shikamaru, calling the blond's attention. "Aren't you going to compete this time, if i remember correctly, you're the only one from our age that is still a genin. Even Neji is now a Jounin"

"I was...but the Hokage decided to test my skills against Kakashi-sensei and if I passed, then she would promote me. Me and Sakura managed to defeat him, so Hokage-sama promoted me last night" – Naruto said, earning a nod from Shikamaru, before the blond turned to Temari. "Say Temari, how is Gaara? I imagine him to be at least a jounin as well if his skills, three years ago, was any indication"

"Actually, Naruto...Gaara was promoted to Chuunin on that exam three years ago and just last year, he was nominated the Godaime Kazekage. He and Tsunade-sama has been making plans for a while and the village relations improved tenfold.

That information shocked Naruto, but in a positive sense. He confessed that he wasn't exactly friends with Gaara, but seeing as they share a common feat, Naruto considered him close to family. Shikamaru and Temari considered how Naruto always wanted to become Hokage and, maybe, he was taking this information badly, but it all faded when the blond smiled.

"Well, good for him. It's good to see one of us getting the recognition he deserves. Now, guys, I have to go home, so I'll see you later, see ya"

The blond didn't want for a reply as he continued on his path towards his house, while thinking about how Gaara was now the Godaime Kazekage and how much stronger he must have gotten now. Shikamaru and Temari, though, kept looking at his back with a frown, because both spotted several differences between the old and the new Naruto.

The lazy, though, shrugged his shoulders and began walking towards wherever he was going, before Temari followed him as well, muttering about lazy ass shinobi and the lack of motivation.

* * *

**===At Naruto's house===**

Once arriving at his building, the blond proceeded to climb the stairs towards his apartment for some relaxing, before he had to take a shower. The thoughts on the next Kazekage now vanished from his mind and he was just wondering what he would do for relaxing. Throughout his training trip, he enjoyed reading ninjutsu material. It calmed him down, somewhat, even if he was indirectly training.

Upon arriving on his floor, he looked up to see his sensei seating close to ledge while reading the book Ero-sensei wrote. Naruto somehow knew what Kakashi wanted with him, although he actually preferred that his sensei would focus on reading that book of his and leave him alone tonight.

The sun was almost vanishing by now and the moonlight was already illuminating the village with all its majesty. Nevertheless, instead of enjoying the sight, Naruto was soon to be trapped in an interrogation about his skills with bojutsu.

"I suppose you want answers, Kakashi-sensei"

The sensei managed to show a smile despite his blue mask, before returning to his stoic demeanor as he closed his book and got off from the ledge. Staring in front of Naruto, he placed his hands inside his pockets and gazed the blond's demeanor. He was slightly surprised to see boredom written on his face, but he pressed the subject.

"As your sensei, Naruto, it's my obligation to know about my students' abilities. Normally, I would take you for a beginner at the art of bojutsu, since clearly you never touched the weapon until you left with Jiraiya-sama. However, that stance alone showed Jounin level skills. The only question that I'll ask is why? Why hide it from us, your peers"

Naruto only smiled, though, as he explained to his sensei. He was already thinking of something he could use to turn the table around, but he will only use it in the end.

"We shinobi take pride from deception, Kakashi-sensei. By showing everything I can do in one fight, the enemy will use the information against me and act accordingly. Plus, I already showed enough skills for you to work on, sensei; Taijutsu, wind and water ninjutsu, weapon accuracy. The rest is for me to depend on, in case the enemy knows about it"

"I understand your reasons regarding your enemies, Naruto, but I have yet to hear about why you felt it was better hiding it from both me and Sakura. I know you changed a lot during your training and yes, you have good teamwork skills; but learn how to trust others, it's a vital skill to possess"

Kakashi felt like he was lecturing the blond, but little did he know that Naruto actually wanted him to go down that road for him to explore what Kakashi said and turn it against him.

"What about you Kakashi-sensei?" - Naruto asked, surprising the sensei, at the level of defiance never seen before. "You have the World's most powerful doujutsu, the Sharingan, you are known throughout the Elemental Nations as the man who managed to copy more than a thousand techniques and yet, you use no more than five or ten jutsus with us around; you manage to parry zanbatou with nothing but a kunai. Nobody I know keeps as much secrets as you do and yet here you are lecturing me about trusting my teammates? You have to agree with me about the oddity behind this situation"

Kakashi's single eye widening in surprise was enough proof to the blond that his sensei didn't expect any sort of such retaliation coming from Naruto. Nevertheless, the slap was delivered and Kakashi suddenly didn't feel so good. Naruto's tone remained neutral, though his words echoed inside his brain. The blond for his part, saw the sudden change in behavior and questioned whether or not he hit a tight spot and ended up meddling in his sensei's personal life. However, why Kakashi wants the blond to trust others, if he does the same thing?

"Sensei..." - Naruto said, calling the man's attention."You don't have to worry about me hiding my skills from my friends. Like yours, my hidden skills may allows me to save them and that's what I aim most of all. If I said anything that hurt you I'm sorry; it was never my intention. Everyone has secrets and it's up for each one to trust someone into sharing, you can't just force that trust. Now, I'm sorry sensei, but I'm late...I have to meet someone in an hour, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah Naruto, see you tomorrow"

Kakashi didn't wait for Naruto to reply, before he vanished within a swirl of leaves, in order to pay a visit to his fallen comrades. The blond's words hurt deeply. But the problem was that everything Naruto was said was nothing further from the truth. How could he expect his students to trust him if he didn't trust them with his life and skills?

Kakashi knew about their student's lives, but his students didn't know a thing about how it was for Hatake Kakashi to grow up during war time under the reign of the Yondaime Hokage.

Without anything left to do for the day, Kakashi just stared at the stone that contained the name of those that he considered family throughout his life.

* * *

_**Rin **_

_**Uchiha Obito**_

_**Namikaze Minato**_

* * *

With Kakashi, these three were a part of the same team and, together they were...a wreck. Just like Team Seven, he was like Sasuke, a stuck-up genius who considered the Shinobi's Rules of Conduct the manual of his life; next Uchiha Obito, the clown of the team, like Naruto - well like Naruto was three years ago – a proud knucklehead with a heart of gold and last but not least, Rin who, like Sakura, did nothing but fawn for Kakashi like Sakura did for Sasuke three years ago.

While back then, his team lacked teamwork, his sensei Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, managed to correct their flaws. When the silver haired Jounin picked up a team, he considered that teamwork would be the answer to everything.

But today only served to prove that he actually didn't believe in said word.

Smiling in realization, Kakashi found that he was looking directly at his sensei's name, as if he was staring face to face with the Yondaime Hokage, crossing his arms and showing that warm smile on his face. Kakashi offered silent words in approval of Minato's son and how much alike Naruto was from the Yondaime.

_I wonder if he will surpass the Yondaime – _Thought Kakashi as he gave his back to the memorial stone, before going home to rest.

* * *

**===next day===**

The next day, Naruto rubbed his eyes in order to cover the first rays of sunlight that managed to invade his room. Throughout his trip, the blond got used to waking up with the sunlight, so he never bothered closing the drapes of his window. Looking to his right, Naruto smiled as Yuugao's prone figure slept peacefully with a smile on her face. Instantly, memories flooded his brain as he remembered what happened yesterday on their date.

They went to the sushi restaurant, Yuugao's favorite, where they enjoyed themselves as a couple while eating some sushi and drinking some sake. Even though both chose to remain their relationship a secret, the restaurant was far away from the village's commercial district, so hardly anyone would eat there, save for Yuugao and a few civilians.

Naruto explained about his team's mission as well as Kakashi's curiosity of his skills with the bo-staff, even up to the point of saying that Naruto should trust his peers with this information. He remembered Yuugao snorting at her Sempai for doing something like this, before she grinned when Naruto explained how he turned the tables on Kakashi.

The night was a blast so far and it was even better when Naruto took Yuugao for a walk throughout the village's outskirts, before the couple went to Naruto's apartment to end the night with style. Said style was the reason why Naruto's face was red like a tomato after what he and Yuugao did yesterday.

Looking at the clock, he saw that he had one hour and a half to present at the Hokage for another mission with his team. Not wanting to wake Yuugao up, he stripped his boxers and took a quick shower. By the time he walked out of the bathroom, he saw that Yuugao was already up and in the kitchen, fixing some breakfast for them.

"Morning Yuugao-chan. Had a nice sleep?"

The woman smiled at Naruto's presence, before nodding at his question, even though she heard Naruto's neighbor shouting to the heavens that he was the epitome of youthfulness and silently wondered how Naruto could stand it.

"Yeah, although that Gai woke me up an hour ago with that blatant scream of his. How can you stand it every day is beyond me? - Yuugao said, before the blond smirked.

"That's nothing, you should hear when Lee shows up as well. Imagine a duet of the epitome of youthfulness reverberating on your walls at five in the morning"

Yuugao flinched, before serving breakfast at the table. Surely, one was loud enough and she didn't want to hear two of them screaming at such an early hour. Breakfast was eaten quietly as they simply enjoyed each other company. Half an hour later, the couple was now fully dressed for battle; Yuugao with her Anbu attire and Naruto with his.

Once leaving the apartment, each went to different directions as Naruto headed for the Hokage's office and Yuugao for the Anbu HQ.

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Tower===**

On top of the Hokage's tower, was located the many hawks that were responsible for the communication between villages. Inside the room, were two Chuunin seated near a table with cards on their hands as this happens to be quite a tedious job to have.

Suddenly, though, a special hawk from Suna landed and that meant something important to the Chuunin, since one of them lifted from the chair out of a sudden, dropping it on the ground as he saw the message. The special breed of hawk, they knew, were chosen for urgent message, so when one of them appeared, Konoha needed to know right away.

Reading the message, the man gasped at the importance before he ran towards the Hokage's office, before barging in as expected when carrying important information. Inside he saw a team of shinobi and the famous Hatake Kakashi listening to a mission debriefing by the Hokage. However, seeing the necessity to interrupt, the Chuunin did so without fear of repercussions.

"Hokage-sama, an important message from Suna arrived. The Kazekage was kidnapped by the Akatsuki and they request immediate assistance"

The news shocked everyone including Tsunade for a while, before Hokage mode entered once more.

"Tatsuki, search for Sabaku no Temari in the village and call for her right now, she's probably with Nara Shikamaru right now. Team Seven will be given a new mission, S-ranked. You are to go to Sunagakure immediately and assist them in Gaara's retrieval"

The order was complied right away by the team as the Chuunin left in order to alert Temari. Meanwhile, Naruto was shocked. Gaara being captured, but how? How strong can the Akatsuki be?

* * *

_**Author Note: **__I decided to create a mission prior to the first Shippuden mission, in order to better show Naruto's new skills both in ninjutsu and his bo-staff._

_Now, the Gaara retrieval mission will commence, but with a different twist...I'll let my reader's vivid imagination to guess what changes will occur. _

_A final piece of information. The company I work for decided to be lenient with little old me, granting me a two-week vacation, since I was the only one in the whole damn building working during Christmas and new year's weeks. So, next story "Tired" will only be updated after I return in February._

_See ya then._


	11. Kage's rescue

**Author Note**

_Okay, now chapter 487. I'm glad Kishimoto postponed the fight, but of course he wouldn't subject Sasuke to such a fight without saving his eyes first. Now, because of Sasuke's new resolve, Naruto will have some serious trouble fighting him. I hope that the damn idiot does some training after arriving in Konoha or else Sasuke will wipe the floor with him. _

_Furthermore, Kabuto shows his face once more, quite to everyone's relief I assume. I've saw some complaints that Kishimoto created the scene where Anko, Sai and Yamato are chasing Kabuto close to 40 issues back, but nothing happened afterwards. Maybe, once Naruto returns to Konoha, he will talk with Hinata, huh? There is a possibility, what the man could create right now that would postpone this meeting, that now goes for 49 issues (correct me if I'm wrong) without any mention of Hinata's love declaration._

_Now on to the chapter; I have a special interest in this story, because in here I can correct every mistake Kishimoto ever made concerning the actual series. Note that I won't make Naruto a super god, invincible. He will have problems defeating his opponents, but at least he has more jutsus under his arsenal, instead of Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan. _

_Read it and tell me what you think._

* * *

**Chapter 11 – A Kage's Rescue**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

As the sun rose once more in a specific location within Fire Country, Sakura and Temari awakened as they saw the jounin leader Kakashi seating close by and looking at them.

However, as they looked around, one integrant of the team was now missing. Sakura decided to ask Kakashi about where Naruto was. The jounin just pointed up, before both girls looked in the direction only to see the blond standing on top of a tree log, while looking at the majestic sight of the sun rising. Just like Kakashi, Naruto had already been up for a while and he was ready to move by the time the girls woke up. Gaara was his friend and the only one who could understand him.

There was no way in hell Naruto would let Akatsuki have their way with him.

The blond was so entranced with his line of thinking, that it took Sakura calling his name a couple of times to wake him up from his trance and jump down to meet his team. Seeing that his team was already ready to move towards Suna, Kakashi ordered them to charge once more as the group would reach the desert in about twenty minutes.

* * *

**===At Suna===**

While waiting for the cavalry to arrive, Suna was doing its best to remedy the situation they were now in. The Kazekage was kidnapped and the kidnapper went through a lot in order to halt the village from going after him by adding hidden traps along the piles of rock that blocked the village entrance.

And from fear of triggering said traps, a couple chunnins and jounins were busy clearing the rock pile rock by rock, while at the same time, looking out for dangerous traps. One jounin managed to find a medium sized exploding seal, before asking everyone to step aside as he would detonate it. The explosion was considerably large and could easily wipe out an entire battalion. Meanwhile, other contingents were taking care of the dead bodies that tried opposing the enemy, but failed miserably.

In total, Sunagakure lost thirty chunnins and five jounins and the bodies would be transported to the medical ward for analysis.

Watching the entire situation from afar, one of the council members Baki frowned as he remembered the last event that rocked the village's foundations. When the enemy appeared, the entire village was sleeping and clearly no one spotted their approach. Gaara must have been the only one who saw them, since he fought the intruder.

Oh and what a fight it was.

Gaara's sand, at first, managed to overwhelm the blond enemy, but the man had a few cards up his sleeve. He had the audacity to try and destroy the hidden village of Sand by using a strange explosive jutsu. It was only due to Gaara's protective sand shield, that the buildings remained intact and the villagers were safe from harm.

'The problem was from that sacrifice.' Baki cursed.

Because of this, Gaara's chakra wasn't high enough to protect him against his enemies, hence why they were able to capture him. Worse was that Gaara's brother Kankuro went after the enemy, only to return carried by a group of Jounins in very bad shape. The medics knew it was poison, but so far not one of them knew how to extract it. As for the antidote to be produced, they would need to know about the poison's components.

What Baki feared was that not even old lady Chiyo knew about this poison and she happened to be the village's expert on the subject.

Sunagakure, because of this, had to count on asking for help as they knew of only one person that might save the jounin puppeteer. The Hokage was considered the best medic-nin in existence throughout the elemental nations. Right now, only she would be able to heal did the village know that Konoha wouldn't be sending Tsunade, but instead her apprentice Haruno Sakura.

* * *

**===With Akatsuki===**

Deidara and Sasori were traveling throughout the desert in a slow pace as Deidara's clay bird carried an unconscious Gaara on its tail. The wind was starting to increase and soon sandstorms would start to occur, forcing the two to take shelter and wait for it to stop. Looking through his puppet, Sasori was already snarling in anger from slowing the pace down. The man hated to make people wait, but he knew better than to go out facing the sandstorms. Deidara, though, was content to just explore his art as he would use his clay to make different shapes, much to Sasori's frustration.

"Sasori-sempai, in time you'll learn how to appreciate my art..." Deidara said, as this happens to be their never-ending debate since the blond shinobi joined the Akatsuki organization.

The only puppeteer of the group groaned as he didn't consider Deidara's explosive clay as art, no matter how many times Deidara would bring the subject to discussion.

"You insist on calling those fireworks of yours art? True art endures the ages...beauty everlasting"

Sasori's voice was slow and rough, qualities of someone who was getting irritated with the topic of discussion.

"Don't you dare to compare your puppets to my art. After all, art is a bang..." Deidara said as he sent a little clay spider towards a small rock in front of him and activated a considerable explosion, feeling good about himself, quite to Sasori's groan of frustration.

"You seem like a child with explosive matches...Deidara".

* * *

**===With Kakashi's Team===**

Because of the sandstorm, the rescue group was forced to hide inside a small cave quite to Naruto's frustration.

He wanted, more than anything, to save his friend Gaara but the more they waited the less time they would have to stop Akatsuki from taking Gaara's bijuu. Naruto wasn't sure what would happen if the bijuus were extracted from their host, but he had a bad feeling that his friend wouldn't live to see tomorrow, if Akatsuki got their way, of course.

The group sensed his frustration and Temari was just as frustrated as Naruto. Gaara was her brother after all. However, she knew better about than to face the largest cause of deaths for those who lives in the desert.

The sandstorms took approximately half an hour to settle, allowing the Konoha ninjas and Temari to charge once more towards Suna, where they would finally know what really happened to Gaara.

"We should speed things up a bit, usually its one sandstorm after another."

Naruto wasn't listening, though, as he was now the fastest of the group. The girls were astonished with the speed, but Kakashi knew better. This wasn't speed, but pure chakra control. Naruto must have trained exhaustingly in this specific field, because of his abundance of chakra. Another interesting observation was that Kakashi could, somewhat, see a current of air being formed in front of Naruto.

'_He is diminishing the air resistance in front of him. I've never seen this level of wind manipulation. Surely, Jiraiya must have taught him well, or perhaps asked another for guidance' _Thought Kakashi as he observed the blond running by not only adding chakra to his limbs, but also manipulating the air in front of him, diminishing its resistance as he ran. Certainly, he could increase his speed to top Lee and Gai's speed, Kakashi deduced giving the amount of control he had over the air.

The winds were beginning to increase once more, but the hidden village of sand already appeared in front of them.

It wasn't long until Temari saw the two chunnins in front of the gate as they greeted her and Konoha. As they ran throughout the village streets, Temari was informed of Kankuro's condition, urging the group to run quickly towards the hospital.

* * *

**===At the Hospital===**

Once the group arrived at Kankuro's room, Temari gasped at the scene she encountered. A group of four medics discussing some theories while her brother laid suffering on the bed in the middle of the room. His breathing was erratic and his body was sweating profusely, all symptoms of poisonous infection. Nevertheless, the doctors all but remained there discussing what to do, instead of saving her brother.

As she approached the bed, Temari suddenly looked at the medics with an indignant scream.

"What are you four doing? It's clear that my brother is suffering from poisonous infection, give him the damn antidote"

Being a doctor, it requires patience and full knowledge of what they would be treating, before even touching the patient. But, clearly, Temari didn't understand this concept. As soon as one of them stepped forward to speak, Chiyo appeared with her brother in tow.

"Had we known the ingredients of this poison, surely we would have cured him already. Sasori of the Red Sand has a knowledge of poisons ever greater than my own, I...I can't heal your brother"

The sudden long look on the old lady was only evident to her brother, seeing that Sasori of the Red Sand was actually her grandson. However, the group's attention to the ongoing discussion faltered once the team from Konoha appeared and Chiyo eyed Kakashi with a sudden rage clear in her eyes.

With unreal speed, at least for an old lady there is, Chiyo charged against Kakashi.

"You'll die White Fang for what you did to my son!!!"

Kakashi's one visible eye was widened, as the old lady's charge caught him by surprise.

Well, who would suspect an old lady inside the hospital?

However, Chiyo realized after some time that the distance between her and her revenge wasn't shortening, in fact she was hovering in mid-air for a while before landing her feet on the ground.

Her face was speechless while searching for what caused this strange act of nature. Kakashi was too, but he was more focused in solving this little misunderstanding before the old lady came and attacked him once more.

Luckily for him, the man with the white beard came and explained that he couldn't be the White Fang, simply because the man was dead a long time ago, to which Kakashi let out a whisper in relief. The woman, though, started laughing while saying that it was just a joke, earning questionable looks from everyone in the room. Little did everyone realize, though, that Naruto's arm was extended the entire time and that he used pure wind manipulation to stop the woman's advance.

After the little altercation, Sakura took a step further towards the medics.

"Excuse me, can I see the patient's chart for a moment?" Asked Sakura, but the medic was reluctant to hand the file, quite to her expectation, seeing that her appearance had yet to demand respect in the medic field. "I'm a medic-nin and the Hokage sent me here to be of any help you'd need"

With that, the medic gave her the chart, before she looked at it with severe scrutiny, while coming up with the necessary procedure in her mind. Chiyo, in the mean time, looked at the pink haired chuunin with certain nostalgia as she remembered one blond woman twenty years ago, that cured every poison Suna would throw against Konoha in the first Great Ninja War.

_Meanwhile in Konoha, one busy blond Hokage sneezed out of a sudden._

"Tell me something little girl..." Asked Chiyo, alerting Sakura's attention as the old lady proceeded. "Why do I see Lady Tsunade of the Sannin in you?"

Sakura's smile grew further as her attention went back to the chart.

"Well, I'm her apprentice after all. I might have picked her habits a bit. Now, Temari let's cure your brother."

Temari looked at her with a thankful smile as Sakura related to the Suna medics exactly what she needed. Naruto, meanwhile, was talking to Kakashi about Sakura's growth as they took a seat next to Chiyo and her brother.

"Well, indeed Sakura didn't waste her time while I was away. I wouldn't imagine her being a medic-nin though"

"To someone who has the same level of chakra control as the Hokage, Sakura's potential would be wasted, otherwise. Her skill doesn't belong in the battle field, though that punch of hers could certainly break some bones. Tell me something Naruto..." While Naruto turned his head to face Kakashi, the jounin remembered the level of wind manipulation he showed throughout the trip and the fact that he felt wind chakra stopping Chiyo's advances.

"Was it you who stopped Chiyo from attacking me?" Asked Kakashi, earning a smile from Naruto.

Certainly, Chiyo was listening to the entire thing. It's been some time since now someone managed to control wind like this and the blond brat couldn't have met that man, could he?

"Air currents exist all around us Kakashi-sensei. I just increased its force with chakra that's all. Now I was curious about something. Who is this White Fang the old lady was talking about? And why would she confuse you with him?" Now this was another question Chiyo wanted an answer for, so she forgot the first one.

The person in question placed his hands on his chin and made a thinking noise, but it was more for effect than anything.

"Well, he was my father, Hatake Sakumo" Kakashi said, shocking Naruto and Chiyo, but he continued nevertheless. "The White Fang was a very skilled jounin, rumored to rival the sannins in power"

As the conversation was going, Baki arrived with a message to Kakashi from Konoha. As he opened the scroll, he saw the team's new orders. Begin chasing after the Akatsuki immediately. The scroll also revealed, quite to Kakashi's sudden curse to the heavens, that Team Gai would be the one providing backup for them.

"What is it Kakashi-sensei?"

"We are to begin chasing after the Akatsuki and rescue the Kazekage. Team Gai will meet with us halfway"

By this time, Sakura managed to extract the entire poison from Kankuro's body and wiped sweat from her forehead in exhaustion. The technique involves constant usage of chakra and to maintain a steady flow, it takes a lot from the medic. However, Sakura still had plenty of chakra to work with. She, then, joined the group and saw Naruto smiling at her.

"Good job Sakura. Surely, you'll surpass the Hokage in no time. Now, we must leave immediately"

The sudden appraisal was enough for her to flush. It was different than the cheering appraisals Naruto did when they were genins. It was different, it was a genuine appreciation of her skills as a medic and it came from Naruto of all people. Certainly, it would take time getting used to this new personality of his.

As the team started to run towards the village exit, Chiyo screamed at them saying that she would go with them. She explained her affiliation with Sasori and the fact that she had the highest chances of survival against him. Kakashi wasn't going to rebuke, so he shrugged and started running once more. Meanwhile, Baki turned to a chunnin nearby and ordered him to gather a group for support later on.

* * *

**===Outside the village===**

Trusting both the trail left behind and the information from Suna regarding Akatsuki's directions, the team passed through the desert in no time and soon they reached the borders of River Country as a sudden forest appeared in front of them. Now up in the trees, the group was traveling fast, but naturally Naruto was faster as he couldn't waste anymore time in rescuing Gaara and this spiked Chiyo's curiosity. She knew Gaara to be rather reserved socially and the only ones who hanged out with him was his brother and sister. Surely, this Naruto character has a deeper bond with the Kazekage jinchuuriki.

Turning her attention to Kakashi, she addressed the proper question.

"What is that kid's relationship with Gaara?"

Upon hearing the question, Kakashi sighed in sadness as the subject of the bijuus always caused him sadness and a disguised hint of shame for never being there for him. Still, Sakura was there, so he couldn't exactly divulge the information and risk breaking Sandaime's law concerning Naruto's position.

"Gaara and Naruto share the same fate upon their birth. Both had the same suffering while growing up, but whereas Gaara went against everyone, Naruto did the exact opposite" Kakashi said, shocking Chiyo as she looked at Konoha's Jinchuuriki. But Kakashi went further and explained Naruto's reasons for being so apprehensive. "Now, the only one that could ever understand Gaara's life is Naruto. He was really happy once he heard Gaara was recognized as Suna's next Kage"

Meanwhile, Sakura was hearing everything while looking at Naruto's back.

_Suffering?? Same fate as Gaara?? But he was always cheerful and happy, while Gaara tried to kill me and destroy Konoha. How could they understand one another?? _

Naruto was always such a mystery to everyone, even without knowing his darkest secret. Sakura, for the life of her, couldn't understand what was going on. Who was the man in front of her, she asked. Naruto was faster than the group, but in Sakura's mind, the blond was increasing his distance between her at each step. In her mind, she couldn't see Naruto, but another person, a complete stranger. It was then that she realized the ugly truth.

She didn't know Naruto at all.

Suddenly, as a small clearing appeared in the horizon, the group was alerted to a hail of shuriken that came flying from the right direction, forcing the group to scatter as they landed in the clearing. Once the group took a look at the enemy, everyone flinched instantly.

Black robes filled with red clouds, raven hair down to shoulder level and three tomes Sharingan blazing at his adversaries. Uchiha Itachi eyed the group from Konoha with the same look every Uchiha displays.

One of pure superiority and even, in some occasions, one that underestimates the enemy's capabilities.

"I'm afraid your path ends here Hatake Kakashi. None of you will go any further"

Kakashi flinched once he saw those menacing red eyes. He knew that upon the Mangenkyou's appearance, everyone would be screwed. Looking at his team, Kakashi assessed who was the best choice to team up with him against Itachi. Sakura used a lot of chakra saving Kankuro and didn't have enough to face Itachi. Chiyo had the experience, but her agility probably wasn't the same as before.

"Naruto, I can't face Itachi alone. I need your help"

By this time, Naruto already fell into position next to Kakashi as both Sakura and Chiyo stepped back a little bit. Kakashi charged against Itachi immediately, as Itachi with unknown speed, made hand seals, before gathering air inside his lungs.

_**Katon Housenka no Jutsu **__(Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Jutsu)_

The consecutive shots of fire were enough to stop Kakashi's charge, forcing him to dodge. The last one, Kakashi jumped in mid-air, before warning the group that Itachi would attack once more.

_**Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu **__(Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu)_

The fireball was huge and it charged against the group with great speed as the oxygen in the air allowed the ball to grow even more. Naruto, though, had a starting plan, so as Sakura and Chiyo jumped away, Naruto did some fast hand seals as he focused on a nearby water supply below ground.

_**Suiton Suigadan no Jutsu **__(Water Release: Water Fang Jutsu)_

Suddenly, from the nearby stream of water a jet of water suddenly erupted and charged against the incoming fireball, extinguishing Itachi's technique. Also, because of the element superiority, the water beam charged against Itachi, who jumped in mid-air in order to dodge the technique quite to Naruto's smirk as he was counting on that. Gathering a group of four shuriken, he threw them at Itachi's direction, but immediately frowned once he sensed his chakra being invaded.

The shuriken suddenly stopped their course and started spinning towards Naruto, instead.

He should have known never to underestimate those eyes, but he practiced long and hard how to feel the genjutsu invading his body and how to immediately dispel it.

Gathering his hands, Naruto managed to overcome Itachi's chakra, thus dispelling the genjutsu. The Uchiha was quite surprised at how easily Naruto broke free from his illusion. However, when he was about to cast a stronger illusion on the blond, Kakashi came charging at him with his favorite lightning attack, forcing Itachi to evade by grabbing Kakashi's wrist and using the momentum to flip his body all the way towards Naruto's position.

"What's the plan Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as he eyed Itachi.

"Pick your bo-staff and charge once you see the signal. Don't forget to avoid eye contact. I'll provide backup while you charge at him"

Suddenly, another Kakashi appeared from below the ground as he tried to deliver an uppercut at his chin, but failed miserably. However, his intention was to keep the enemy occupied as Naruto was already by his side, with his bo-staff in hand. Naruto focused some wind chakra throughout the metallic staff, and it started glowing. Naruto meant to kill.

Itachi saw that he wouldn't be able to parry the weapon and jumped out of the way of the attack.

Kakashi was already making hand seals as he unleashed a great fireball technique at Itachi. The Uchiha did the same thing and the attacks collided, causing a major explosion throughout the clearing.

When the smoke faded, only Itachi and Kakashi faced each other as Naruto was nowhere to be found.

The silver haired jounin charged Itachi with taijutsu as he began with a series of kicks and punches against Itachi. However, the Uchiha was faster as he managed to immobilize Kakashi's body and grabbed the man's head, positioning it in front of his, forcing eye contact between the two. Kakashi was trapped in Itachi's genjutsu, instantly.

However, as the genjutsu was in full effect, Itachi noticed something amiss.

"I see, you're a kage bunshin." Itachi said, as the clone grabbed Itachi, forcing him to remain in his position.

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared from the hole he created prior to the explosion and screamed for Naruto to attack now that Itachi was immobilized.

Naruto, from out nowhere, charged against Itachi with a much bigger Rasengan.

"Take this, **Oodama Rasengan**" Screamed Naruto as he slammed the blue sphere into Itachi, before a huge backlash of chakra enveloped the arena, increasing the wind and sending sand and debris everywhere. Kakashi was still focused on the fight, seeing if Itachi had managed to dodge the attack. Sakura and Chiyo were amazed at the technique. Naruto, though, was looking at the smiling face of Itachi, before his body was propelled towards a set of trees.

'_Why the hell was he smiling after receiving the Rasengan…?' _Thought Naruto as he went to see Itachi's position and confirm what happened. When the group went to check what happened, they were shocked to see someone else wearing the Akatsuki robes. Chiyo recognized the identity immediately.

"I know this man" Chiyo said, alerting everyone's attention. "His name is Yuura and he was one of Suna's advisers. His body went missing a couple days ago"

Kakashi was examining the possibility of Itachi doing such a technique, but he didn't think possible. Either way, their mission wasn't over and rescuing Gaara was their top priority. Still, Kakashi wanted to know about the real Itachi's position as for this technique, one must be rather close to their location.

* * *

**===Kisame x Team Gai===**

It's been a couple days since Team 10 received the mission from Tsunade-sama to serve as backup for Kakashi's team and together they would be rescuing the Kazekage from the hands of Akatsuki. Three years ago, if someone were to ask to Gai, Lee, Neji and Tenten about this organization, none of them would even know who they were, nor what their purpose was.

However, ever since their first appearance in Konoha territory, a considerable investigation was in progress and every shinobi ranked chunnin and above was obliged to read the entire content of this research. Whether or not Team Gai knew about the real reason behind this organization's interest in Naruto, they knew about some of their abilities and how skilled they are. Right now, the team was passing through the immense desert heading to Suna.

Suddenly, the team stopping their movement once they saw someone approaching or rather something as it appeared that they could only see bandages approaching their position like a shark in water, seconds away from attacking his prey. The team was ready for battle as suddenly a person rose from the ground with black robes, carrying a bandaged weapon. The man was smiling at them with sharp teeth.

"I was getting eager for a little fight, thought I could use you four to calm my nerves"

The man's figure didn't need introductions, well at least not for Tenten and Neji as they recognized the man instantly from the bingo book. Gai and Lee, though, didn't know him at all, but Gai wouldn't ever underestimate an opponent, no matter his opponent's appearance. Kisame suddenly jumped from the rock he was standing on, before landing a few feet apart from Gai.

"You're..." Said Gai.

"Uh, so you know me, huh? My legend precedes me after all"

Kisame didn't know, but Gai, while looking at him, was trying to remember who the hell this dude was.

Kisame took his chance and charged the group with Samehada, but everyone managed to dodge. Lee approached Kisame before inclining his body and landing a strong upper kick on Kisame's hand, sending the sword flying. Tenten took the opportunity and sent a couple of kunai at Kisame, who in turn just grabbed them with his right hand. By this time, his sword had already returned to his hand once more.

Neji began evaluating the man's chakra with his byakugan and smiled upon knowing he was a suiton user.

"We have the advantage here, there is no source of water nearby"

Kisame smirked, while observing Konoha's famous Byakugan in action. Surely, figuring out his prime affinity just by looking required a doujutsu. The fish like shinobi laughed once more and threw his sword up in the air.

"You're quite proud of those eyes of yours Hyuuga. But that isn't an issue for someone like me"

As Kisame finished the last hand seals, he started gathering lots and lots of water inside his lungs.

_**Suiton Baku Suishouha**__ (Water Release: Bursting Water Collision Waves Jutsu)_

Once he couldn't take it anymore, he expelled all the gathered water from his mouth, as a little waterfall was formed, pretty much transforming the dry desert into a nice lake, quite to Team Gai's astonishment. Fighting a suiton user in the desert was an advantage they could exploit with ease, seeing as it's every water user's weakness, but this man doesn't possess such weakness.

Just as the technique was over, Samehada appeared once more in Kisame's hand as he laughed at his opponent's faces. Suddenly, the man skidded on top of the water as he charged at his opponents. Gai was already with his nunchaku as Kisame tried attacking him with a vertical assault. Holding the sword with his weapon, Gai managed to land a powerful kick on the man's chest, which sent him skidding a bit. Getting up, Kisame was surprised when Lee came from his back and landed a roundhouse kick on Kisame's face.

Gai took the opportunity and embraced Kisame's Samehada with his right leg. The Konoha Jounin tried wielding the fierce weapon against Kisame. Suddenly, something happened and from the weapon, emerged some spines that forced Gai to let go. Kisame all this time grinned at the man's misfortune.

"Sorry, but my sword is self reliant. It chooses the wielder and in this case, it chooses me"

Kisame saw that the entire team moved to attack him at the same time, causing him to smirk as he proceeded with his plan to get rid of these three nuisances. Focusing some chakra, the man produced three **Mizu Bunshins**. As the team approached, the bunshins started making a quick sucession of hand seals.

_**Suiton Suirou no Jutsu**_ _(Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu)_

As they extended their hands, water rose from them until it enveloped Lee, Neji and Tenten inside a bubble of water.

Gai shouted their names and was about to help them, but the real Kisame stopped him by charging him with Samehada vertically once more. Gai managed to stop the sword's advance with his weapon, however the strength behind the attack was too much and Gai couldn't hold the control over his chakra to remain afloat. He was propelled below water, before reaching the bottom of the river.

Kisame smirked as he placed his sword between his arms, before joining his hands in a prayer position.

_**Suiton Goshokuzame **__(Water Release: Five Sharks Eating Jutsu)_

As he slammed his hands on the water, chakra started leaking from his hand as he created five sharks to charge at Gai.

Meanwhile, Neji was observing the technique he was now trapped in and his teammates as well. Lee and Tenten clearly were having trouble holding their breath as they were in a fight against an S-ranked missing-nin. But Neji was a jounin and he'd been through adverse situations before. He would just have to focus and get out of this predicament. Activating his byakugan, Neji started to analyze the water prison technique and how each Mizu Bunshin maintains the flow of chakra. At first, he didn't find any alternative he could exploit and he was beginning to get desperate. Tenten and Lee were seconds away of drowning; he needed to think of something fast.

Suddenly, his Byakugan gave him a way out. The water prison technique requires constant flow of chakra to be maintained. Not only that but the technique links both the victim and the caster, allowing Neji to get out of the prison and eliminate the bunshin at the same time. He would have to be fast, though. Tenten was already losing her conscious and he didn't want to think of how much water she ended up swallowing.

Focusing on the Hyuuga's impenetrable defensive _**Kaiten**_ (Heavenly Spin), Neji started exhaling chakra from all over his tenketsus, before spinning it. The bunshin realized immediately, but he couldn't do anything as Neji managed to stop the flow of chakra needed to maintain the water technique. The Hyuuga prodigy got out of the technique and immediately landed a powerful jyuuken strike on his bunshin, dispelling him. The other two were caught as well, seeing as they were busy holding the other two.

As Lee and Tenten were occupied with breathing once more, Neji was now facing the real Kisame, while Gai was below water dealing with the sharks.

Neji suddenly focused chakra on the palm of his hand for a new jutsu he created.

_**Hakke Kushou**_ (Eight Divination Signs Air Palm)

Before Kisame could understand what was happening, he was sent flying backwards. He only managed to stop by focusing chakra on his feet, but when he was about to retaliate the Hyuuga, the water began to glow green. The reason was unknown to him, but Gai took the opportunity after the sharks to open five of the celestial gates.

Suddenly, the river transformed into pillars of water as Gai's chakra was enough to do just that. The green beast of Konoha jumped from his position and landed in front of Kisame, who flees upwards towards the pillar of water, but Gai was faster and engaged him in mid-air.

Kisame tried hitting him with Samehada, but Gai quickly evaded and landed a fast kick on Kisame, who was sent flying immediately. Kisame was wondering how fast the man was, before Gai appeared once more in front of him with white hollow eyes. Kisame had lost the battle and he knew it right there.

_**Asakujaku **_(Morning Peacock Taijutsu Style)

Gai's fists combusted as he landed a mean series of punches at Kisame, who couldn't even defend himself against the assault. The last one sent the enemy flying towards the ground, but just as it happened to Itachi, the real enemy revealed himself as no more than a Suna jounin with Akatsuki's black robes.

* * *

**===Deidara and Sasori===**

Oblivious to the fight between Itachi and Konoha, Sasori and Deidara traveled slowly towards the organization hideout where the first bijuu would be extracted. Stopping a while on top of a boulder, the double looked down to see a small river and the entrance to a cave blocked by a giant stone.

Upon approaching the entrance, Deidara focused some chakra on his ring in order to send a signal to the seal located on the stone. In no time, the stone suddenly lifted off the ground until the cave inside became plainly visible. Deidara and Sasori walked on top of the water path, before both stepped inside the cave ground. Once there, an astral projection of a man with strange swirling eyes turned to greet them.

"You're both late" the man's voice was deep and methodical as he complained.

"Yeah, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki turned out to be quite a challenge to overcome" Deidara said, while scratching the back of his head.

"Never mind, at least the jinchuuriki is in our hands"

The astral projection started with some hand seals, before he slammed his hands on the ground. The entire cave started trembling as a strange statue appeared from the ground. Its material was unknown, but had the shape of a skeleton as the creature wore a blindfold and both hands were visible.

With but a word from the astral projection, six more presences materialized on top of each finger. Deidara and Sasori took their respective positions. Suddenly, a man with a big sword strapped on his back, which by the appearance, was former Mist-nin Hoshigaki Kisame, decided to treat some more pressing manners.

"The extraction technique will be somewhat difficult without Orochimaru. Perhaps it would be wiser to add more chakra to the technique"

"Indeed..." Said Uchiha Itachi, as the only given hint that it was him was his red sharingan eyes.

Then, one by one, the fingers started glowing until a specific kanji appeared on each one.

When the chakra was adequate for the technique, the one with the swirling eyes, remained with the ram hand seal, as he focused on the technique.

_**Fuuinjutsu Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin**__ (Sealing Art: Complete Nine Mystical Dragon Seal)_

Suddenly, the statue's mouth opened and exhaled a purple color beam, before it dissolved into nine different ones. Each of them resembled the shape of the dragon as they charged the unconscious Gaara. Upon contact, there was a mild explosion on the ground as Gaara was enveloped inside a purple cocoon.

The procedure has begun and in three days, the Ichibi will be captured and Gaara will be dead.

* * *

**===Team Kakashi===**

After dealing with Itachi, Kakashi and his team tried following Gaara's trail, but it was to no avail. Akatsuki wouldn't be S-ranked missing-nins if they left clues of their position.

Kakashi, though, had an ace up his sleeve as he cut his thumb and summoned his canine detective Pakkun. Before leaving, Suna managed to retrieve a piece of Gaara's clothing, so Pakkun's sensitive nose would be able to locate their position by following Gaara's scent. The only problem was that the canine decided once more to comment on Sakura's pink hair, infuriating her a bit. She was about to charge at the damn dog before Kakashi stopped her.

"Pakkun, we have to hurry, find Gaara's trail and take us to his position"

The dog saluted the jounin like a soldier to his commander. Sniffing the clothing a bit, Pakkun suddenly jumped towards a certain direction further inside River Country. The team soon followed as they just entered inside a dark forest, where the sunlight was having trouble passing through the bushy trees. While following the little canine, Kakashi slowed the pace a little to discuss something with Naruto.

At each fight these two participated in, Naruto would show a new ability Kakashi wasn't even aware he possessed. First, it was the ability to increase the air current inside the hospital. Now, during the fight against Itachi, the man casted a considerable genjutsu on Naruto and the blond had just overcome it like it was nothing. Not to mention the fact that Naruto's Rasengan was stronger than before. If Kakashi were to compare, he would think of his sensei Minato. While, of course, Minato's was more controlled and precise, Naruto actually surpassed in strength and power.

"Naruto, what more are you hiding from me, your sensei?"

Kakashi figured that beating around the bush wouldn't solve his present predicament and certainly Naruto would be intimidated and give him everything he could do. However, despite the desperate times Naruto was now facing, he just smiled while looking at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes. He knew no rule that stated Kakashi should be aware of _everything _he can do. But the blond enjoyed Kakashi's face of frustration when he said he isn't obliged to say more than what Kakashi already knows.

"Please Kakashi-sensei, right now we have to focus on rescuing Gaara, now is not the time"

Kakashi was about to pressure further, but he heard Gai shouting his name, as Team Gai joined the gang. Tenten and Lee joined with Sakura as they started talking and Neji sided with Naruto. The Hyuuga prodigy eyed Naruto for a second, while studying him with care. Naruto's chakra network was a lot different than before and more than one affinity was present, not allowing Neji to see which one was the stronger.

"You know Neji, I'm starting to feel rather violated here, could you please stop looking at me with those eyes of yours?"

The jounin snorted at the comment, but he deactivated the eyes.

"You didn't change so much as I expected you to. Still joking around…"

As the conversation went on, the team arrived at the same river Deidara and Sasori was a few hours before. According to Pakkun, Gaara was inside the cave. Kakashi thanked his canine detective before dismissing the little puppy. Afterward, the entire team was in front of the cave entrance as Kakashi spotted the seal located in the middle of the stone.

"How we get in there?" Lee asked, before Gai rested his hands on his shoulders with his trademark smile.

In little to no time, Gai did some back flips as he focused all the chakra he possesses into one single strike, one that would shatter any rock no matter how strong it may be. Guy was confident that his attack would shatter the stone as he started running very fast towards the stone. In seconds, his fist landed on the stone. However, little to nothing happened as the barrier absorbed the attack entirely.

Kakashi and Chiyo was studying the seal for a moment, before both concurred that it was a five-barrier seal.

"In order for us to lift this barrier, we must locate the other four seals that are acting together with the one in front of us. Neji, would you do the honors?"

With a simple nod, Neji activated his Byakugan. Instantly, he started looking all around the field for the seal's position as he was slowly pinpointing the other four seal's location. Problem was that the seals were very far away from each other and in order to lift the barrier, all seals must be ripped off at the same time.

It was at this time that Gai gave the idea that his team would locate the seals and deal with them. They would contact each other via wireless headsets.

As team Gai left the vicinity, it didn't take long for them to reach the seals' positions. After ripping them out at the same time, it was Sakura's time to shine as she adjusted her gloves for a super punch. Just like Gai, she charged at the stone as with her perfect chakra control, she focused all of it on her fist, transforming the big stone into dust, surprising the people inside as everyone stopped the technique immediately.

"It seems we underestimated their skills. Sasori, Deidara protect the jinchuuriki's body at all costs" Pein said as the astral projections vanished from their current positions.

"It seems our mission isn't over huh Sasori-sempai?" Asked Deidara as he and the puppet master materialized in front of the unconscious Gaara.

"That's an understatement…"

As Naruto saw the unconscious Gaara behind the two Akatsuki members, Naruto narrowed his eyebrows, showing every intent of killing these two and saving his friend.

* * *

_**Author Note**_

_I decided to divide the Kazekage retrieval arc in two parts. _

_This way, I can add more details on the fight that occurred, given the fact that it will be a lot different. I mean, come on, Naruto isn't a total idiot anymore. He won't just charge without a plan in motion. _

_Tell me what you think_


	12. Saving Gaara

**Author Note**

Hello and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

I believe I already told this, but next to my hunter-nin story, this is my favorite. The word 'regret' for me has a different meaning to the one people uses often. Regret, for me, isn't used to somehow redeem a wrong choice in the past, but a right one in the future. No one can change what happened in the past, but everyone can change the future. That's how I created this Naruto (not the real character because that's Kishimoto's creation).

He could wallow in self misery over not training and maybe preventing some events from happening, but he didn't. He trained and it's now showing his skills to the world.

And it's just the beginning.

Read it and tell me what you think.

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Saving Gaara **

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Inside the cave, two groups of opponents stood immobilized facing the other with severe scrutiny in order to grasp any possible information to capitalize upon.

On the side near the cave entrance, was the joint force of two hidden villages namely Konohagakure and Sunagakure fully intent on saving the unconscious Kazekage that lied unconscious behind the two Akatsuki members. Deidara, for his part, kept smiling the entire time, making it appear that they were too late to salvage the leader of the hidden village of the sand.

"Huh, and I thought this would be relatively easy. Now we have to fight everyone and still protect his body." Deidara said as he kept his smile. After all, he enjoyed a good fight.

"We need to hurry up with them. I don't like to keep people waiting."

While hearing the conversation, Naruto was focusing every bit of his mental capacity in order to remember what little information he had on the two members. The blond one's name was Deidara and he was a missing-nin from Iwagakure. Jiraiya often mentioned that he knew little to nothing about his skills, but the pervert knew him to be long-range type. Regarding the man's partner though, Naruto didn't recognize this man, if he could even be called a man.

His appearance was strange and the blond wondered if he was even human. Looking at Kakashi, Naruto asked him about their course of action.

"We have to establish whether or not the Kazekage is still alive first. Their position suggests every intention of protecting Gaara's body, so it's likely that they still need him for something. I guess we'll have to engage these two in combat. Be careful though, they are S-ranked criminals. Naruto, you and I will take on the blond, while Chiyo and Sakura will take the other guy."

Upon hearing the plan, everyone nodded and assumed their respective battle stances.

Suddenly though, a huge explosion erupted in the middle of the field, creating a dense fog. Quickly, Naruto made some hand seals and molded some chakra.

**Fuuton Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Technique)

The sudden increase in wind was enough to blow the fog away, but it didn't prevent Deidara from fleeing on top of a white bird of some sort, forcing Kakashi and Naruto to follow behind. Since the other was still there, Sakura and Chiyo remained inside the cave.

"Sakura, we need to be careful with him." Chiyo said as he focused her entire attention on the Akatsuki's puppet user. To Sakura, it sounded like the old woman knew the man they were facing, but Chiyo beat her approaching question and explained. "I'd recognize the use of kugutsu (puppet art) any time and I certainly recognize the one in front of us. I guess we finally meet Sasori-kun…"

The Akatsuki member muttered a single snort at the comment.

"I wasn't expecting for you to know it was me, though I am not surprised that you figured it out…Obaasan (grandmother)" As soon as the words reached Sakura's ears, she looked in shock at Chiyo, who never took her eyes away from Sasori.

"For twenty years, I wondered what had happened to you. You fled the village willingly and became a missing-nin, how could you do something like this?"

"Spare me the sentimental crap Chiyo-Obaasan." Mumbled Sasori, much to Chiyo's snarling as he continued. "I wouldn't have done half the things I accomplished if I was driven by sentimentality alone. Being tied to a hidden village makes you weak and hinders any shinobi's potential. No matter what ambitions I had, I was prohibited by the late Sandaime Kazekage. I chose to leave, because if I stayed there, I would never reach my full potential and as you can see, I am pleased with the results and will never regret my decision."

Sakura was watching the interaction between grandson and grandmother, but in actuality she was looking at Sasori, while trying to gather some information on the weird looking guy. But it was a rather difficult task, considering that everything was hidden behind the Akatsuki robe. According to the old woman, the being in front of them wasn't Sasori, but a puppet. Sakura just hoped that she would be strong enough to face an S-ranked criminal with an extensive knowledge of Kugutsu and deadly poison.

"Sakura, you'll need to do everything I tell you in order to beat him…" it appeared that the discussion was over and that the biggest fight of Sakura's live would begin.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After leaving the cave, Naruto and Kakashi followed the flying Deidara who was carrying Gaara's unconscious body. The technique managed to extract a considerable chunk of the demon trapped inside the Kazekage and because of this, no one knew if Gaara would even wake up. Nevertheless, Konoha wouldn't give up on him just yet as Naruto and Kakashi followed from the ground. The altitude was a problem in their eyes and both knew that Deidara could simply escape with Gaara's body.

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do? If he stays up there….

"I know Naruto, I'm thinking. None of our techniques have a long enough reach and he certainly will dodge anything that he sees coming towards him." Naruto knew something about his sensei that few people did. Kakashi was the elite of shinobi in Konoha for a reason and he'd managed to defeat every single opponent he ever encountered, at least so far that is. Surely, Kakashi must have a technique to use. Suddenly, Naruto saw that Kakashi exposed the Sharingan and was now focused on the tiger seal.

"Naruto, I'm not certain if this technique will bring him down, but it will certainly hold him in place for you to act."

The blond smiled at the vote of confidence, when he noticed something strange about Kakashi's Sharingan. Its design was different now, he couldn't describe it, but it wasn't the three normal tomes any longer.

_I didn't know that the Sharingan could be evolved past the three tomes. Wait, I remember Jiraiya talking about Itachi's new Sharingan, Mangenkyou I guess the name was. Did Kakashi reach Itachi's level? I guess that will be a question for later. _

Kakashi was focusing his entire attention on Deidara now, not even aware that Naruto wasn't by his side any longer as he got deep inside the woods, focusing as much chakra as he could on his fee, as well as controlling the air resistance in front of him to run faster. But his attention never diverted from the flying Akatsuki member.

It took only a moment to dodge an incoming tree branch, before Naruto saw something that surprised him greatly. Deidara was involved in some sort of transparent wave and was having trouble escaping from it. Whatever it was, this was his signal to move.

As for Kakashi, he was focusing every bit of chakra into his eyes as he managed to hold the technique longer. The dimension he created around Deidara wasn't enough to deal with the enemy, but the least he could do was to hold the man a while longer so that Naruto could find a way to bring him down. As the technique required a lot of chakra to work, Kakashi started focusing on at least severing a limb or two, inhibiting his movements.

He managed to take one arm, before he stopped the technique.

He just hoped that Naruto managed to find a way to bring Deidara down. Suddenly as he looked, he could see a trial of white smoke going up, much to his surprise as he recognized Naruto's shadow clones. Kakashi smiled at such improvisation. Naruto used kage bunshin after kage bunshin in order to reach Deidara's level. Then, Kakashi's Sharingan could see Naruto grabbing two windmill shurikens out of nowhere, before focusing chakra through the metal.

It was something odd that Kakashi felt as he saw Naruto taking action.

Three years ago, Naruto would have done something wrong and ruined the chance, but now Kakashi's opinion was different. He had faith in Naruto. Deidara seemed to be focusing only on his missing arm and didn't notice Naruto was close by as the blond threw the windmill shuriken straight at Deidara's position.

Deidara was holding his shoulder, while screaming like never before. He was more perplexed than in pain, as he wondered what kind of technique Sharingan no Kakashi used on him. He was so absorbed in pain and perplexity that he didn't see Naruto's windmill shuriken approaching his position with the promise of cutting him in half. As soon as he looked up, his eyes widened to extreme proportions. From his position, he could see only one approaching him and after focusing chakra to his legs, Deidara managed to jump over the shuriken in time, but because of the wind chakra surrounding the weapon, the Akatsuki member felt a deep slash on his stomach.

The pain blinded him to the second windmill shurikens presence but contrary to the first one, the shurikens target was the bird. It ripped the clay bird in half and Gaara's unconscious body started falling, until two Naruto clones grabbed him, while at the same time focused on wind chakra in order to smooth the drop until they landed on top of a tree. The real Naruto was just waiting on the ground as he saw Deidara falling down hard. At the same time, Kakashi arrived and looked at his student for a while, before sighing in dismay. Naruto was an entirely different man and he didn't know how someone could change so much in such a short amount time.

Not only did he manage to rescue Gaara from an S-ranked criminal, but also managed to severely wound him to the point that Deidara might not be able to get away alive.

Suddenly, a blur appeared in front of them, as Deidara threw a great number of clay spiders at Kakashi and Naruto. As soon as the spiders reached the two ninja's location he triggered a huge explosion, enveloping both Naruto and Kakashi completely. Despite the pain, the Akatsuki member smiled at winning the battle, before he realized that the clones didn't vanish like expected. Suddenly, Deidara felt chakra usage inside the blast.

**Suiton Suijinheki **(Water Release Water Wall Technique)

Instantly, the fire was extinguished as Naruto immediately charged Deidara with his bo-staff, forcing the man to use his least favorite skill….close contact fighting. It didn't mean that he was a push over as Naruto couldn't land a hit. As Deidara managed to retreat a distance from the rather petulant shinobi, he threw a couple more clay spiders at Naruto. Before they could hit him, however, two kunai suddenly impaled the spiders, causing them to explode in advance, much to Deidara's ire. As Kakashi landed next to Naruto, he received a thank you from his student.

"Watch out for that clay of his, Naruto. My Sharingan detected a large gathering of chakra within those clay spiders and from what I was able to grasp, our opponent uses his clay like a bomb. Don't let it get near you, or else you're done for." said Kakashi, as he charged Deidara with a Chidori in his right hand. Deidara was impaled instantly, but as soon as the hand appeared through his back, he turned into clay forcing Kakashi to jump away from a barrage of clay serpents that headed his way.

This time, Naruto came to the rescue as he went through a series of hand seals.

**Fuuton Kazekiri **(Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique)

One by one, the serpents were sliced in half. Naruto wasn't through as he located Deidara's whereabouts, hiding behind a couple of trees a few meters northeast. This time, going through a long series of hand seals, Naruto focused a large quantity of chakra before a giant water dragon roared from behind Deidara.

**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu **(Water Release: Water Dragon Technique)

The earth user turned a minute too late and was enveloped completely by the technique. Kakashi didn't waste any time and immediately sent a lighting wolf straight towards the wet Deidara. He understood quite quickly that his life was at over if the wolf reached his position, so Deidara gathered a bit of clay from his pouch and produced a big ball of clay. He threw it at the incoming wolf, before fleeing while the two shinobi were busy dealing with the explosion. His objective was the sand jinchuuriki and seeing as Konoha had Gaara in their custody, his job was now to retrieve the body and flee right away. However, it seemed like the blond's clones just vanished and Deidara was becoming impatient.

Suddenly, he saw the two behind a large bush and smiled. Producing two spiders, Deidara surprised the clones as he ignited the clay arachnids, immediately dispelling the clones. Gaara's body fell limb on the ground, earning a smile from Deidara upon seeing his prize in front of him. However, it took one step on his part before a great array of shuriken stopped his movement, causing the man to snarl from the leaf shinobi's attempts.

Immediately, the real Naruto and Kakashi landed in front of Gaara as they observed Deidara with severe scrutiny. So far, they only managed to take one of his arms and damage some parts of his body, but this fight was taking longer than expected. And where chakra was involved, prolonging a fight against an S-ranked criminal would only lead to chakra waste…chakra that could be used for other means like taking the Kazekage to a safe place. As a leader, Kakashi started analyzing the pros and cons of dealing with Deidara or fleeing with the Kazekage's body.

The mission is to rescue Gaara, not deal with the Akatsuki.

However, Kakashi knew that Deidara wouldn't allow them to flee that easily. He was a man of unknown resources with that clay of his. Looking at Naruto from the corner of his eyes, Kakashi started formulating a plan. The techniques Naruto pulled thus far, the agility he displaced when crossing the desert ran through his mind. To this point, Kakashi wasn't sure if he saw everything Naruto was capable of. His plan was simple. Naruto would keep Deidara occupied while Kakashi contacted Gai's team and handed Gaara to them.

They would take him back to Suna while his team handled the Akatsuki.

"Naruto, can you keep him occupied for a moment?"

Naruto looked at his sensei from the corner of his eyes, before looking at the opponent once more.

"What are you planning Kakashi-sensei?"

"Our top priority right now is to rescue Gaara and take him back to Suna. I'll hand him to Gai and then return to assist you." Naruto stopped for a moment to analyze the situation. From the looks of things, Kakashi was only waiting for his signal in order to proceed with the plan. Deidara was a tough opponent and his explosive clay was deadly if placed in contact with the enemy. However, what Kakashi didn't know was that Naruto wasn't showing everything and his absence could give Naruto the choice to deal with Deidara properly.

"I'm good here Kakashi-sensei, take Gaara to safety. I'll cover you…"

The smile on his face scared Kakashi for a moment. He knew how much Naruto craved for a fight here and he wondered what he was hiding. Looking at Deidara one last time, Kakashi quickly grabbed Gaara's body and vanished towards the river, surprising Deidara, who grabbed some clay inside his pouch. However, his instincts told him to jump the same time as a sword of wind charged at his old position, slicing through the tree entirely. Deidara looked at the blond only to see that he was smiling.

"Now that my sensei is busy with other things, we can increase the level a bit…"

It didn't take one second before Naruto took his weapon and charged Deidara in close combat. This time, though, the battle rhythm was different as the Akatsuki member tried dodging Naruto's combo. It was like his speed doubled and Deidara wasn't sure if he could dodge for much longer. Suddenly, as soon as he dodged a swing that was aimed after his head, Deidara was surprised when he sensed Naruto's kick to his chin, sending him flying. Jumping high, Naruto started beating Deidara like a punching bag with his staff, before he finished with a powerful stroke to Deidara's shoulder.

The noise of bone breaking echoed through the clearing, before he was immersed in pain. He was falling very fast, but Naruto still had one attack left as he was falling as well. Doing some hand seals, he exhaled a ball of air straight towards Deidara, accelerating his fall. The hole created by his fall was huge and Naruto landed safely next to it as he looked at his opponent who was holding his dislocated shoulder, while looking at Naruto with pure anger.

Naruto was about to carry out the finishing move, when suddenly two jets of water charged at him out nowhere, forcing him to jump away. He looked up to see a red head with two strange metallic structure on his back, landing in front of the injured Deidara. The blond Akatsuki member looked up and saw the man in front of him, before he remembered his partner's true form.

"Sasori-senpai…"

"It seems I overestimated your capabilities Deidara. Getting beat by a teenager."

Instantly, Naruto feared the worst as he heard the interaction between these two. If he was the other one, then what happened to Sakura and elder Chiyo? Before he could ask Sasori what happened, the man smiled and addressed Naruto.

"Took a little while for me to recognize you, but now I know why you beat Deidara, Kyuubi no Jinchuuriki…"

Naruto immediately narrowed his eyebrows upon being discovered, but maintained his focus.

Deidara was beaten, his shoulder was dislocated and the pain he was feeling prohibited him from even moving. The problem was this new opponent in front of him. He knew next to nothing about him and this fact alone scared Naruto. It was one thing to fight a god whose powers are largely known, but it was another thing to fight a human to whom he knew next to nothing about. In the ninja world, even the tiniest detail could mean his death in the battlefield. Jiraiya taught him that much. Naruto didn't want to think the worse and he prayed that Sakura was alright.

* * *

**===With Kakashi===**

As soon as he left Naruto, Kakashi immediately contacted Gai through the intercom. The news he received wasn't the one he expected. Gai's team was facing their carbon copies as it happened to be the seal's mechanism of defense. His only choice, right now, was to assist Gai and deal with his copy, before he could count on the Green Beast of Konoha. It didn't take much time before Kakashi arrived at the fight's location. They were on a cliff a few miles north of Naruto's location.

To Kakashi, it was an amazing display of taijutsu between masters. But the mission required Gai's help and he couldn't wait for the man to deal with this on his own. The problem was that he couldn't figure out who the real Gai was and using the Sharingan for it required a great deal of chakra. However, it was needed for this occasion. Before he lifted his hitai-ate however, he saw the real Gai greeting him with that goofy smile and the usual thumbs up, allowing Kakashi to locate the real Gai.

_Leave it to Gai to do something like that in the middle of a fight_.

Focusing on a quick series of hand seals, Kakashi created a thick mist that enveloped the two combatants. When the other Gai realized what was happening, his throat was sliced by Kakashi's kunai. Once dealt with, Kakashi handed Gaara to Gai, who gave his word to take Gaara to safety. Kakashi, then, focused the chakra that he was saving and shunshined to Naruto's location. Once he appeared, he saw that Naruto was facing a new opponent and he wondered what happened to the other one.

Seeing that the blond wasn't in immediate danger, Kakashi scouted the region for the other opponent. He found Deidara badly injured inside a hole and wondered how Naruto was able to deal with the slippery snake. Seeing his chance to deal with an Akatsuki opponent, Kakashi transformed into the Anbu captain he once was. While watching the other enemy firing jets of water at Naruto and the blond dodging skillfully, Kakashi immediately landed behind Deidara, who was occupied nurturing his broken bones.

Activating his Chidori, Kakashi plunged his hand in Deidara's heart, before the man was able to realize who was behind him. However, for an S-ranked criminal, it was too easy and Kakashi realized that upon looking the clay doll in front of him just like last time. Sighing in dismay at the elusive individual, Kakashi focused on Naruto's fight against the other opponent. Naruto fired a gust of wind at the man's direction, but he jumped out of the wind's reach, before attacking Naruto this time with a strong jet of fire, forcing the blond to use the water wall technique to defend himself. Using his Sharingan, Kakashi managed to detect the same presence as he felt inside the cave and concluded that he was Deidara's partner.

_So, what happened to Sakura and Chiyo? Oh my god, it can't be…they can't be dead…Obito, Rin, I…_

"Kakashi-sensei…"

The man turned immediately to see Sakura carrying a badly injured Chiyo. He immediately went to help them, before he placed the old woman behind some bushes for Sakura to take care of her.

While doing this, Kakashi asked for a full report on the man Naruto was fighting. Sakura explained the man's name was Sasori of the Red Sands and Kakashi's eyes widened to unseen proportions. It was the man who killed the Sandaime Kazekage, Sasori of the Red Sands. Sakura explained that the man was insane and that he transformed the Sandaime Kazekage's body into a puppet just so he could use the man's bloodline, iron sand.

Sakura explained that Chiyo was able to destroy the Kazekage's puppet by using her selection of puppets, but Sasori was far too powerful for them and almost killed Chiyo with a deadly poison.

"I managed to make an antidote while in Suna that cured her, but she is in need of medical assistance, ASAP." explained Sakura, earning a nod from Kakashi.

"We managed to secure Gaara…he's with Gai right now. However, I have to help Naruto. He managed to deal with the man's partner but I fear Sasori in on a whole other level. I trust that you'll be safe here Sakura. Sasori is the last enemy left. Deidara is far too injured to pose a danger, but keep your eyes pilled for his presence." Sakura nodded and comforted Chiyo with her medical technique, while Kakashi went to help Naruto, before he heard them talking for a bit.

"You know for a teenager, you certainly have skills Jinchuuriki. Anyone else would be dead right now, but you managed to hold your ground against me and that's saying something." Sasori said, while holding two swords in each hand, dripping with a strange black liquid. Naruto was already panting for breath. Sure, his chakra capacity was larger than a few jounin put together, but fighting against S-ranked criminals was an entirely different scenario. It didn't mean he wasn't enjoying this fight, though.

"I thank you for the compliment. I'm enjoying this fight immensely. However, I fear this is taking too long, don't you think…" Sasori smiled at the blond's courage. He had only one scroll left on his back which was his ultimate weapon to use. To this point, he never used this particular scroll because he never felt the need to. However, with the Kazekage gone as well as the fire and water scrolls, he'd have to use this as last resort.

Suddenly, the scroll vanished and it appeared in front of Sasori, before it opened. Immediately, one hundred puppets appeared, before Sasori opened his left chest to reveal an intricate set of chakra wires connecting to every one of the puppets. Naruto watched in awe as the sheer number of puppets just waiting for the leader's order to attack. He bet that just like Sasori's weapons, the puppets were loaded with deadly poison. Taking his staff, Naruto started spinning over the top of his head in preparation for a technique of his creation. As a shinobi, the blond learned that secrecy was his most trusted ally and that showing off his full skills would spell trouble in the future.

However, he didn't have a choice this time manner as the puppets in front of him would easily slice him to pieces otherwise.

"You should feel honored, Jinchuuriki."

By this time, Naruto's bo-staff was already spinning fast enough to create small gusts of wind around him.

"Why is that?" asked Naruto to which Sasori smiled.

"You're the first one to see this collection of mine. Quite beautiful aren't they? No matter what you're trying to do, you just can't stop them all."

Naruto immediately released one of his hands from the staff, while never ceasing the movement. He started to mold the necessary chakra exactly the same time Sasori's puppets started to charge. The wind around the blond began to increase, until it created an invisible shield around him.

**Fuuton Bouei Engai **(Wind Release: Protective Dome Technique)

Kakashi saw them move and cursed as he arrived too late to stop the puppets from attacking his student. As he looked at the position Naruto was in, he suddenly sensed a huge usage of wind chakra. As he focused on his Sharingan, he could see a dome of sort protecting Naruto from all the attacks.

Naruto, started spinning the staff faster, while at the same time molding the necessary chakra. This technique was his defensive trademark, but for someone with a huge chakra capacity like him, chakra control was his weakness. The technique required a constant molding of chakra in order to remain active and while he trained his chakra control, it wasn't one hundred percent. One by one, the puppets were being sliced upon coming in contact with Naruto's technique, but their numbers were too much for Naruto and he was starting to lose control over the technique. Sasori already lost more than a half of the puppets, but he managed to see that the blond's admirable efforts were starting to fade.

Suddenly, Naruto relinquished control over his technique while Sasori still had twenty puppets under his control. The man had a smile on his face as he saw the defenseless individual panting on the ground. As the other puppets attacked, Sasori was sure this time that the Jinchuuriki was within his grasp. Surely, finding the one tailed jinchuuriki wouldn't be too hard and by capturing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the Akatsuki would have the strongest tailed beast ever to grace these lands, in their custody.

Nothing could stop him now.

**Doton Doryuuheki** (Earth Release: Earth Wall Technique)

Sasori was surprised when the sudden earth wall technique appeared and wondered just who was the cause. The Jinchuuriki, as far as he knew, didn't have an earth affinity.

Naruto looked up to see his sensei in front of him, molding chakra to maintain the earth wall technique.

"Sensei…"

"Sorry I took a little while to arrive Naruto. We managed to secure Gaara, Gai is taking him to Suna as we speak." Kakashi explained, before Naruto got up with a smile on his face as held his right shoulder.

"I'm glad to hear that…but how can we beat this guy?"

"Right now, he's counting on those puppets to deal with us. We just have to destroy them. How much chakra do you have left?"

If Naruto had to guess, he had chakra left for two B-ranked techniques maybe three, but that wasn't much to beat twenty puppets and at the same time dodge their poisoned weapons. However, there was the possibility of using _that_ chakra. Giving the circumstances, he guessed he had little choice in the manner. Of course, Kakashi would object…

"I don't have much to use. But I could use _his _chakra and be done with it quickly."

Kakashi knew what Naruto was talking about and he dreaded every second of it. Using the fox's chakra could help them beat Sasori, but at the same time, Naruto might lose control over it and attack everyone nearby, meaning he and Sakura as well. However, Kakashi was remembering something that Jiraiya said once they returned from their training trip.

**Flashback on**

_Jiraiya and Kakashi were inside a Dango restaurant talking about what happened during their absence, when Jiraiya turned serious for a while. _

"_Kakashi, I'm handing Naruto into your care now like we discussed three years ago." The pervert jounin looked at the pervert for a while, before going back to his icha icha book._

"_Sure thing, I trust that nothing bad happened during the training trip?"_

"_Nothing relating to the fox, we trained all three of the ninja arts, hoping to make him stronger in order to better fight the Kyuubi's urges. I trust he has more control over the fox, maybe up to two tails without losing his mind over it. But to be safe, I have designed a specific seal that manages to cut off the link between the fox and his chakra. I trust that you'll manage to control him, Kakashi. In fact, I'm counting on you to do the right thing here."_

_Kakashi remembered the one time he felt the fox's chakra being used by Naruto and he could feel how powerful it was. _

_At the time at the bridge, Naruto wasn't even using one tail's worth of power. Kakashi could only imagine how much powerful he could be with two tails worth of the fox's energy._

"_Don't worry Jiraiya-sama; I'll take care of him…"_

**Flashback off**

Now, looking at the boy behind him, he could see a firm resolve on his face. In any case, Naruto could control the fox's chakra up to two tails worth of power.

"Okay Naruto…but don't overdo it. There is so much you can take before losing your mind…" The blond smiled at Kakashi's warning, before he focused on the fox's chakra. Suddenly, his eyes changed color and a red aura surrounded his body, healing his every wound and restoring his chakra capacity. With it, his muscles were more defined and his agility doubled. He then turned to his sensei and showed a smile that made Kakashi shiver inside.

_I'm glad he's on our side…_

"**I won't be long Kakashi-sensei."** Naruto said, as the wall succumbed and they could see twenty puppets. Sasori watched the ninjas from Konoha, before taking a closer look at the blond one. Something had happened to him, he could feel it. Upon severe scrutiny, he could feel the fox's menacing aura. Instantly, he narrowed his eyes in deep focus as his enemy had something up his sleeve this entire time and for the first time, Sasori was outsmarted by someone.

Of course, he still had numbers on his side, but for how long was the question. Immediately, ten of his army charged Naruto at the same time. Kakashi escaped the puppet's charge as he knew what would happen if he stayed. But Naruto just remained there, looking down. When the puppets were inches away from his nose, Naruto smiled. Seconds later, a huge explosion surrounded him and the puppets. For a few seconds nothing happened until the smoke cleared and Kakashi could see a bunch of scrap wood on the ground. Sasori was able to feel one by one, his puppets being slammed, beaten and broken.

It didn't take long before only four puppets stood between Sasori and his life as Naruto was like a blur, taking care of the opposition.

Kakashi was astonished by the speed in which his student was moving. If he was already fast before the Kyuubi, now he was more like a blur, even to his Sharingan. Focusing some chakra to his red eye, Kakashi could see the same ability as he saw in the desert, just doubled. As soon as Naruto finished the last puppet, he stood in front of Sasori, breathing normally. It was an exercise both Jiraiya and his sensei Soujiro taught him. Whenever perturbed or angry with something, remember to control your breathing and clear your head of outside influences. And as he looked at the enemy, Naruto smiled at how much easier he could control the fox's power.

Sasori fixed eyes with Naruto's fox like eyes like he knew his destiny. However, for some strange reason, he didn't dread the outcome of this fight. He transformed his body into a puppet in order to rid himself from the first cause that people get killed over, emotions.

A shinobi, according to Sasori, must sever all ties in order to reach his or her fullest potential. Sever ties with the village, lovers, friends, family…

But now, he was watching his death in front of him and by someone who outsmarted him. If he was destined to die, then at least it was by someone whose skills he came to respect.

Suddenly, Naruto started making a large series of hand seals in quick succession, before he muttered the last words that Sasori would hear.

**Fuuton Suraisu no Tatsumaki **(Wind Release: Slicing Tornado Technique)

The Akatsuki member was immediately engulfed as the hurricane started slicing his body components, as well as the scroll located where his heart should have been, killing Sasori instantly. Afterwards, Naruto managed to stop the flowing of the Kyuubi's chakra and kneeled on the ground, panting from lack of breath. Using the fox's chakra was like poison running through his veins. Every minute he used it, he felt his skin crawl and body burning up, hence why he stopped depending so much on the fox's chakra.

Kakashi kneeled next to his student, deeply proud to call him that. Naruto, so far, showed every attribute of being able to deal with S-ranked opponents.

Throwing Naruto's arms over his shoulders, Kakashi could feel how tired Naruto was, but that was understandable. Hell the chakra Naruto consumed today was more than twice of his entire capacity. Within seconds, Sakura and Chiyo appeared to their side and Chiyo asked of Gaara. Kakashi explained about Gai's involvement in taking Gaara back to Suna and the fact that Neji was with them, so no one would be able to sneak up behind them and catch them by surprise. Sakura saw the state in which Naruto was in and smiled.

Despite the obvious fatigue and possible broken ribs, Naruto was smiling and that alone forced her to smile in return.

"I never would have thought Sasori-sempai could be killed and by a brat no less…" Said Deidara, surprising everyone as he stood in a clearing between trees, holding what appeared to be clay with his only hand. His entire body was a mess, all courtesy of Naruto's bo-staff. He was panting like crazy and only had chakra for one last technique. However, he sure as hell wouldn't let Konoha get away, even if this is the last thing he did.

Bringing the clay close to his mouth, Deidara took a bite of it, before swallowing it whole, confusing them for a moment. Kakashi, though could see with his Sharingan that the opponent was focusing all his chakra to one single spot inside his stomach. To the others, they could see Deidara inflating a like a balloon and everyone knew what happened when you pumped too much air inside a balloon. As the chakra became too unstable, the man exploded.

The members of Konoha and Chiyo were too close and no one would be able to get away from the blast. Kakashi focused every bit of chakra, before evolving his Sharingan. However, he was too late to use it, as the ball of fire was already approaching their position. He couldn't do anything to prevent it. Naruto looked at the incoming blast and suddenly remembered something his sensei taught him.

**Flashback on**

_The sun was already setting as Naruto and Soujiro was next to the waterfall, training. Soujiro watched Naruto train nonstop and smiled at the brat's stamina and resolve in perfecting his ninjutsu techniques. _

"_Naruto, come here for a second, I want to speak with you…" The blond was hovering a couple stones by using wind chakra alone, before he stopped and approached his sensei. The man taught him so much that every time Soujiro wanted to talk to him, Naruto was all ears. "Naruto, you know that when comparing other elements, wind loses to fire, right?" _

"_Sure, fire is fed by oxygen and any wind technique will just increase the flame's power." Explained Naruto, earning a smile in retrospect to how much Naruto learned in such a short period of time._

"_Indeed, wind technique will just feed the flame, making it useless against Katon techniques. However, there is one situation when wind techniques can be used to beat a fire technique, can you explain to me?" Soujiro asked, before he saw Naruto thinking for a bit. After some time without an answer, the man decided to enlighten his student regarding the theory behind the jutsu he aimed to teach._

"_Well, I'll give you a hint my boy, so listen up. You said yourself that wind increases the power of the flames, correct?" Naruto nodded, before Soujiro continued. "So, considering that fire techniques utilize the air from the atmosphere, what would happen if there wasn't much oxygen to be used as catalyst for the flame?" It took a while, but the blond realized what Soujiro meant as he looked at his sensei like a gawking fish out of the water. _

"_Well, I guess that would be an example, but why are you telling me this Soujiro-sensei?" Naruto asked, before Soujiro smiled once more. _

"_I'm telling you this Naruto, because recently I came up with a technique that manages to suck the air from the atmosphere, reducing it considerably, therefore cutting the catalyst needed to ignite the fire...and I intend to teach you this particular skill. However, this technique must remain a secret between you and me. It's something that Sunagakure wanted with a passion and I fear that if they saw you doing it, trouble would sure follow."_

"_You have my word, sensei"_

**Flashback off**

Focusing the last bit of chakra he possessed, Naruto extended his free hand and started focusing on the secret technique his sensei taught him.

**Ninpou Kaze Saishuu** (Ninja Art: Wind Gathering Technique)

Slowly, but surely, a small ball of wind started gathering on his hand, growing larger by the second. Not even aware of what was going on; the team from Konoha could feel the heat emanating from the ball of hell and it wouldn't take five seconds for them to be engulfed by it. However, it was Kakashi who realized that the fireball was diminishing somehow. His Sharingan could detect the usage of chakra next to him and he turned his neck to see Naruto's hand forming a ball of air the size of a fist and it was growing.

"Naruto, you…"

The blond didn't answer anything, though. Just keeping this technique active was hard enough and required his complete focus the entire time. Suddenly, he molded every bit of his chakra, before seeing the ball of air quadrupling in size, therefore diminishing the ball of fire up to the point that it didn't represent much danger to the team as they managed to jump in time to avoid being killed by the massive ball of death.

After landing on a safe place, the entire team wondered what the hell happened and how they were still alive. Naruto was already unconscious. And because of it, he didn't realize that the team headed straight to Sunagakure where they would make sure that Gai managed to return Gaara to the hidden village in the sand alive. He missed the celebration that occurred in Suna with the safe return of their Kazekage. But Kakashi made sure to tell everyone who it was that managed to rescue Gaara.

Naruto was praised as a hero of Sunagakure; it was a shame, though, that he wasn't awake to hear his name being shouted repeatedly by the villagers.

Both Team Gai and Team Kakashi chose to leave to Konoha as soon as Naruto awakened. Temari and Kankuro took them to a nice hotel to spend the night.

* * *

**===With Yuugao===**

Blissfully unaware of the events in Sunagakure, a very tired and battered Yuugao opened the door to her little, but cozy apartment. Her shift was long, tiring and everything she wanted right now was to have a long hot bath, followed by a few hours of sleep. Yuugao never complained about her job, even though there were times she regretted accepting the _honor _of being an Anbu soldier. Today was one of these occasions.

A B-ranked criminal managed to get loose from the cell he was in, before killing at least three members of the unit.

One of them was on her team.

Eventually, she managed to recapture the guy and lock him up once more. But the damage was done and a young shinobi lost his life because of it. Sure, the ninja life was no picnic; everyone knew that upon accepting the head-band and especially everyone who was enrolled under the Anbu forces. But Yuugao didn't like it when one of her subordinates was killed. To some, it was a mere casualty, but to her, it meant something else. She was tutored by one of the best Anbu captains, Sharingan no Kakashi. And as such, she tried to command her team like he did. No man was left behind…everyone protecting one another.

As the hot water came bombarding her soft skin, the woman let out a heavy sigh in response to what happened today and wondering how long it would be before she cracked under the pressure of being an Anbu captain.

'_Well, to me you're strongest Anbu captain ever…'_

The sudden memory of what Naruto spoke two months ago, forced a smile on her face. At the time, they were in a fancy restaurant located within Water Country, discussing some general shinobi topics like the Anbu and the stressful life she led every day. Naruto said that Yuugao was the strongest Anbu captain he'd ever met, before she contradicted him saying that she was the _only _Anbu captain he knew, but with a warm smile on her face, accepting the praise that had every intention of cheering her up.

Instantly, she wondered if he was doing well on his mission. From what she knew, his team was sent to Sunagakure in order to rescue the Kazekage from the Akatsuki's hands. Surely, it was no less than an S-ranked mission and normally it would be no less than suicide to send a team of three chunnin and a jounin to a top mission like this. But she had confidence in his skills, seeing as she helped him train so that he could beat tough opponents like Akatsuki.

Once leaving the shower and putting on some night clothes, she went straight to bed as her body was demanding at least a couple hours of rest.

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, here was my version of Gaara's rescue.

To some who thought that Naruto came out as too strong, it wasn't my intention; at least not entirely. I wanted to show his new skills, acquired through hard work and extreme focus on his new resolve.

Also, you all noticed some different routes chosen, which means that different events will follow, but what would be the fun in following Kishimoto's plot right? Not to mention, it would be a waste of time, seeing as no one likes to read what already happened, but a different version of it.

Tell me what you think.


	13. A couple's night out

_**Author Note**_

Hello everyone and welcome to another Chapter of Regret.

Before giving some input on this story, I'd like to use this opportunity to point out a major flaw in Kishimoto's manga. If I'm wrong, please correct me. A long time ago (thirty or more chapters back), Sasuke managed to kill Danzou, or rather the man killed himself with a seal on his body. However, so far, no one even bothered to uncover the man's secrets. For god's sake, the man had Sharingan eyes implanted on his arm and the DNA of the Shodaime Hokage as well. Nothing of the sort was found, though. When Sasuke killed Orochimaru, Konoha was aware the same minute. Also, why didn't Konoha bother to check Danzou's Root shinobi as well as the secrets hidden by the old war hawk?

So many plot holes unanswered regarding Danzou (which was considered by many, the real one behind the Uchiha Massacre. Madara, by all means just assisted Itachi from the shadow). All that Kishimoto seems to focus, instead, is to bring every damn shinobi from the dead and have them fight the five village alliance.

Now, regarding this story…

I was glad that the readers enjoyed my version of the Gaara retrieval. Now that this arc is finished, it would be time for the fight with Orochimaru, right? Wrong…last chapter, Sasori didn't reveal that he would be meeting Kabuto on the bridge, therefore there won't be any mission. Also, Sai won't show up, can't say the same about Yamato, though. As I stated before, I'll follow the Shippuuden time line to a certain degree, throwing in some new events in order to prove our hero's strength and skills. Eventually, the story will return to Kishimoto's course of action, but for now, I'll be adding a new arc regarding Team seven and team ten. I hope it will be as enjoyable as it has been so far.

Okay, here is the chapter. Before that, I'd like to say thanks for **Pokemaster12** for giving me the idea for this chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter 13 – A couple's night out**_

_**Beta: Kyuubi123**_

* * *

Two days passed since Gaara was brought back to Sunagakure and the two teams from Konoha decided to stay, in order to recuperate.

Also, Naruto was still due to wake up seeing as he used a lot of chakra against both Akatsuki Deidara and Sasori, even killing the last. Because of this event, Naruto received a treatment reserved only for the Kazekage. It was the very Godaime Kazekage who ordered such thing and, thus, Naruto was receiving attention from the best medics Suna had to offer. Of course, they would need to get through Sakura first. The pink haired chunnin took plain responsibility for her teammate's care and dared anyone to challenge her. Therefore, Sakura remained alone taking care of Naruto, using every bit of the skills taught by both the Godaime Hokage and Shizune. Naruto would be completely healed by this time tomorrow, for sure.

Kakashi could only smile at his beautiful students' antics, often preferring to wander around town with Neji. It was definitely better than accepting Gai's challenge to scale Sunagakure's top mountains twice. He was lucky that Lee, Gai's student, accepted the challenge otherwise Gai wouldn't stop bugging him.

Tenten opted to hang out with Temari as she showed the weapon mistress around Suna. It was actually quite surprising to see both ladies having so much fun together, seeing as, three years ago, Tenten couldn't stand Temari; probably, because the wind user wiped the floor with her at their first chunnin exams. However, because of the time spent between Suna and Konoha, Temari made a lot of friends in Konoha and Tenten ended up being one of them. Both were competent and highly skilled kunoichi, therefore they had a lot to talk about, besides regular woman talk like men for instance. Temari kept saying that Shikamaru was so lazy that even though he liked her, he wouldn't make a move because it was troublesome. Tenten, for her part, chose to complain about Neji's cold attitude outside of missions.

Overall, those from Konoha were having a nice time, while Naruto recovered.

Speaking of the blond, he was resting peacefully inside his hospital room, while Sakura ran her last diagnosis check on him. The rate in which any normal shinobi would recover from chakra exhaustion was at least two weeks, but Naruto wasn't normal by any means. He only needed two to three days, something she always seemed to wonder why, but no one ever explained it to her. She smiled, though, seeing as by this time tomorrow, they would return to Konoha. Afterwards, she left the room in order for Naruto to get as much rest as he could. However, if she remained a couple more minutes, she would have noticed that Naruto began to sweat, because of the sudden pain inside his body.

* * *

_**===Inside Naruto's mind===**_

The only noise Naruto could hear were the few droplets of water that echoed throughout the sewer that represented his mind.

The blond knew enough about his tenant to realize that it wanted to talk to him about something. Naruto almost felt nostalgic upon looking around this place one more time. Because of his training with Jiraiya and Yuugao, not once did he bother to use or improve his control over the fox's chakra. The reason was that he didn't enjoy being over-reliant on the same thing time and time again. It was his resolution a couple days before his training trip began to acquire other skills besides kage bunshin, Rasengan and the fox's chakra. Naruto chuckled at the prospect of the fox calling him here because the gigantic demon was lonely and needed some company. As he walked towards the room where the cage was located, he could feel the enormous, almost poisoning, killing intent that leaked from his chakra coils, represented inside his mind by the pipes that ran along the walls of the sewer.

It could only mean that the fox was mad about something and that could never be good.

A couple minutes passed before Naruto walked inside the room and narrowed his eyes upon seeing the amount of malevolent chakra being leaked from the cage right now. It was only because of Ero-sensei and Soujiro-sensei's lessons, that Naruto managed to act aloof as he saw the red menacing eyes looking down upon him. He could see all kinds of evil in that look and could only wonder what could have pissed the fox off so much. The demon, for its part, saw the boy in front of him and snarled at him, with rage beyond words, scratching the resistant bars that kept him locked inside Naruto. Kyuubi was a proud demon. Therefore, when his damned host decided, out of nowhere, that he didn't need the fox's power anymore, it was infuriating.

"I take it you wanted to say something to me, Kyuubi?" Naruto asked as he tried, with all his might, to control his urges to flee from the room. He almost blacked out when the fox roared at him from within the cage, in response to his question. The demon's chakra was so strong that his legs started shaking.

"**Of course, I want to say something you brat! You don't use as much of my chakra as you did in the past. What is it? You think you can survive out there without my help? You're weak…without me you're nothing but a pathetic meat bag" **

The sheer force of the fox's chakra was enough that Naruto was having trouble to breathe, much less think of a proper response to give. And despite the fox's blind rage at being dismissed so easily, Kyuubi couldn't help but smirk upon seeing his tenant holding up like this. A couple years ago, the brat never won a battle using his own skills, rather depending on the fox's power to beat his enemies. Now, though, the brat had grown. He went from plain incompetent to adequate in Kyuubi's opinion and that was saying something. It, immediately, diminished the chakra leakage and looked as Naruto got up from the ground, while slowly gaining his breathing once more.

"Why did you stop? I thought you were mad at me, damn fur ball?"

"**The fact that you have enough balls to stand strong when others almost died upon facing my wrath speaks volumes of your newly acquires skills. I'm still pissed at the fact that you feel that you don't need me as much anymore. So, I'm proposing a deal to you brat. Tell me first, though, why are you so against using my power? Surely, your techniques would at least double in power and your speed would be unmatched. Tell me, brat, why do you fight so much against me? It's not like I will do something to get you killed, since I would go to hell as well, so what is it?" **

Kyuubi asked, surprising Naruto a bit.

"First of all, the minute I use it, you start overloading my brain with negative thoughts, which would, then, lead to me using more chakra than I can control. Because of it, I lose track of my surroundings and become a threat instead of an ally. Also, as you probably know, I don't want to be reliant on you alone and contrary to what you believe, I'm not neglecting you, you damn fur ball. When I face a foe I can't beat with my own chakra, I don't have any other choice but to borrow yours. I did it when I fought against Sasori, remember?" Naruto explained, before hearing what he believed was a snort of sarcasm coming from the fox's mouth. He wasn't certain, though.

"**Yes, for five minutes…anyway, about the deal. I'm not asking you to use my chakra every damn time. And when you use it, I won't try manipulating your thoughts…" **

The deal was almost too good to be true, hence why the blond found it difficult to believe his tenant. It was true that Naruto now rarely used the fox's chakra and it was also true than when he used it against Sasori, he felt like he could withstand it without dire repercussions, which meant that his training helped him. However, the prospect of using more of Kyuubi's power and not be manipulated by the chakra's effects was too much to pass up. He could feel that the fox wanted something out of this bargain.

"**As I can hear your thoughts, you want to know what is in it for me in this deal of ours. All I want is to have access to your senses, brat. It's damn lonely in here after a while. That way, I can see what you see, hear what you hear, feel what you feel…and before you ask, you can shut me down when you fornicate with the swordswoman"**

Naruto tried really hard, but he couldn't avoid the sudden intake of memories of the many positions he and Yuugao were in as they ravaged each other a couple times.

"Okay Kyuubi, you've got a deal. Although, I know you're aware that I won't be facing S-ranked criminals on a daily basis. However, upon facing foes like Kakashi-sensei, be sure that I'll use your chakra. Now, I don't know I can allow you to use my senses, I mean…"

"**Do not worry about that…it's already done. Ahhh, I can already smell fresh air…it's nice. Now, get out of here brat!" **Naruto did as he was told and left, though he wouldn't be the same if he didn't let out a smart ass remark seeing as it was the damn fox who called him in the first place.

* * *

_**===Next day===**_

Naruto was already up and ready to leave for his home village. Right now, he was supposed to meet his team at Sunagakure's main gate.

In little less than ten minutes, he reached the location only to see Gai and Lee screaming to each other, challenging to see who would reach Konoha first, while the rest just face faulted at the two's antics. As soon as he sensed Gaara's presence behind him, Naruto smirked and turned in order to properly greet the fellow jinchuuriki and Kazekage of Sunagakure. Although the kage wasn't that talkative, Naruto knew how to communicate with him. The red head jinchuuriki had a smile on his face.

"I wanted to thank you for your help once more, Naruto…" Gaara extended his hand while gathering sand. Naruto smiled and shook the Kazekage's hand.

"No problem Gaara, we are friends, aren't we? I know you'd do the same thing if the situation was reversed. Although, it's high time we did something about the Akatsuki. We can't just sit around and wait for them to collect all the Jinchuuriki…" The topic was suddenly serious and Gaara nodded as well.

"I understand…though it will be extremely hard to convince other kages about this threat. I'll do what I can to send messages to Iwa and Kumo, though I highly doubt even one of them will see it like we do…"

"I'll ask Hokage-sama to send word to Kirigakure and Takigakure. Hopefully, they will be more open to threats such as this one. Now, you take care my friend…" Naruto shook Gaara's hand once more and then turned towards his team, knowing that Gaara would just leave when the conversation was over.

By now, only Kakashi and Sakura remained, waiting for him to say goodbye to Gaara, seeing as the others were betting on who would win between Lee and Gai. Neji and Tenten placed a few bets as well, so they tried following the two. In no time, Team Kakashi ran as well, towards Konoha. By the regular speed, they would reach Konoha in two days from now, probably night time. Well, Team Gai would arrive first, but seeing as Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi weren't in such a rush to return, they were taking their time. Surely, getting back from a mission didn't require speed and for Naruto it worked nicely. He was completely healed of course, but he was bedridden for more than two days. His legs weren't one hundred percent, yet.

* * *

_**===two days later – nighttime in Konoha===**_

By the time Naruto and his team arrived in front of Konoha's gates, it was already night time and the moon was glowing brighter than ever. He couldn't help but smile upon seeing that tonight was a full moon and, thus, Yuugao would be ecstatic for a weapons spar. Something that he never understood, but somehow, Yuugao was even more beautiful when illuminated by the moon. Walking inside the village, Kakashi was notified by a chunnin guard that Gai's team had already arrived and was currently waiting for his team at the Hokage's Office for a full debriefing on the successful assignment. Looking at his team, he could see that they were well rested, despite the pace in which they ran towards Konoha.

He suspected that Sakura would object to traveling at night, but since they were already inside Fire Country, it wasn't that much of a deal.

So, the three walked towards the Hokage's Tower, while Naruto looked slightly to his right, with a smile on his face. He wasn't surprised that his girlfriend already knew he was in town. She was an Anbu captain after all. He was able to understand the hidden sign language and only nodded to her invitation to meet him at her house after debriefing. As the team walked, both Naruto and Sakura were taking their time looking at their surroundings, seeing as by this time, only those who wished to have a good night out were on the streets. Usually, it was by this time that trouble usually happened and every ninja around needed to be alert, in case a drunken civilian or even a drunken shinobi was causing trouble. Luckily, nothing major happened and the team arrived at the Hokage's Office. Gai and his team waited patiently for Kakashi's team, since they arrived half an hour before them. Still, Gai couldn't help but see it as a victory for him and started annoying Kakashi for it. Of course, the scarecrow jounin didn't care much about it, since he was busy finishing the last chapter of his book.

"Kakashi, didn't I tell you to never walk in here reading that book?"

Tsunade's eyebrow was twitching at Kakashi's obvious disregard for her order. But she knew that, strangely enough, reading porn and being aloof to the world were Kakashi's ways of coping with the life of shinobi, just as she chose to drink...a lot.

"My apologies Hokage-sama..." Kakashi said, before placing his book inside his holster.

"Just don't do it again...I want to hear the full report of this mission, so spill it"

Kakashi gave the Hokage a full report of what happened since they left Konoha, giving her details of their fights against Itachi first, then against Deidara and Sasori, thus saving the Kazekage from Akatsuki's hands. Tsunade, at the end, smiled and congratulated them on the job well done, before dismissing everyone. Sakura, for her part, nodded and turned to Naruto for something, before being shocked that the blond wasn't there anymore. Looking at Neji, since he was behind Naruto most of the time, the Hyuuga just shrugged it off saying that he left just after the Hokage dismissed them. Neji didn't even bother to see her look at his answer before he left Tsunade's office through the door together with Tenten, Lee and Gai. Showing her frustration, Sakura stormed out of her office, leaving Kakashi alone with Tsunade and Shizune.

Kakashi watched everything from the corner of his only visible eye and smiled upon remembering that Yuugao appeared before Naruto upon Team Kakashi's arrival.

"Tsunade-sama, I was wondering if I could talk to you regarding Naruto? I believe it's time that we placed Tenzou on the team"

This topic surprised Tsunade a bit. It was a bit early, considering that the man would only appear once Naruto was at least adequate with the usage of Kyuubi's chakra and so far, he hadn't demonstrated such control, at least not to her knowledge.

"It's still too early Kakashi. Why do you think that?"

"On the mission, Naruto used two tails worth of power against Sasori of the Red Sand. I couldn't even keep up with him, not even with the sharingan. I was at first worried that I'd have to use Jiraiya's seal to subdue the fox, but the fox's chakra didn't affect Naruto's mind at all. In fact, he was in control the entire time, dealing with Sasori's army of puppets. With Tenzou's help, I bet he could reach at least three tails and still be in control" After Kakashi explained, Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the fact that Jiraiya didn't tell her this specific piece of information regarding Naruto's training. If he did, then Tenzou would be accompanying the team to Suna, instead of only now being placed on Kakashi's team.

"Okay Kakashi, I'll call him here later on to tell him his new assignment. Now, you are dismissed" The jounin bowed to the Hokage, before leaving through the door, leaving Tsunade and Shizune alone to ponder on things. Naruto, after only three years of training, pretty much transformed from an fresh out of the academy genin into a jounin level shinobi. It was really scary for them to witness such growth. They could only imagine how powerful he would be once he learned to fully control Kyuubi's chakra.

* * *

_**===With Naruto===**_

Soon after arriving inside Yuugao's apartment, via shunshin, Naruto was not surprised to see the woman already waiting for him, sitting on her couch with a wooden sword in her hand. The fact that Yuugao was tapping her fingers repeatedly told that she had been waiting for a while.

"Sorry about taking so long Yuugao-chan, a lot happened on the mission and thus Kakashi-sensei took a while to report" Naruto said, as he already summoned his metal staff, while seeing his girlfriend leaving the room through her window.

"Just so you know, you're making it to me for wasting some precious full moon moments. Now, let's go...I'm in need of a sparring partner and you can't get rusty with lack of a proper challenge to test your bojutsu. Now, I understand you came all the way from Suna, are you tired?" asked Yuugao, already knowing the answer to her question. It was enjoyable to see the look on his face, upon having to answer this same question every time they sparred together.

"No, I'm not tired...I haven't been tired for a while now and probably it will take more than just traveling from Suna for that. Plus, yesterday, I managed to sleep a lot, so I'm one hundred percent. I wonder about you, though, with those boring patrol missions of yours" Naruto knew that Yuugao hated when someone underestimated her stamina and chakra capacity. She told him that people did all the time and every time she would show them by hitting them hard. True to his pretension, he could see her angry look and enjoyed every second of it. She was just more beautiful when she was angry, especially at him.

"You just signed your death warrant, Naruto-kun. Let's go..." Yuugao said, before she vanished, followed by a smirking Naruto who vanished as well. Naruto enjoyed when Yuugao was angry at him. When calm, she was unstoppable with her sword, but when she was angry, she was vicious.

And when she was vicious, something else usually happened…

* * *

_**===At one of the training grounds===**_

Beneath the glowing majesty of the moon, two shadows could be seen fighting against each other, both of them smiling as each tried to find an opening to explore.

Despite the fact that they were each using different weapons, they managed to adapt to both strengths and weaknesses of each weapon to utmost perfection. The sword, because of its size compared to the staff, was faster and more maneuverable. However, Naruto used more chakra than Yuugao, thus he managed to swing his bo-staff fast enough to parry Yuugao's ninjato. Therefore, it was quite a challenge for the woman, since she had to worry about both ends of the staff. It only got worse seeing as both Naruto and his weapon of choice were popular for their unpredictability. She never knew when or how Naruto would strike, often defending herself through basic survival instincts rather than skill alone. Overall, it was an interesting match to watch, if not for the fact that the couple didn't enjoy any form of audience.

They would be pissed if one of them noticed another shadow watching the spar from afar.

Haruno Sakura didn't enjoy the fact that Naruto, her teammate, kept hiding stuff from her. They were supposed to trust each other, right? That was the lesson Kakashi-sensei taught Team Seven. Of course, that lesson meant nothing to Sasuke, but it meant something for Sakura and Naruto, at least she thought it that way After she left Tsunade's office, Sakura tried searching for him all over Konoha. She only managed to see Naruto's golden hair with the help of the moonlight and, thus, she hid behind a tree as she watched Naruto sparring with some woman she never seen before. Sakura wasn't aware that Naruto was dating anyone and the fact that, whoever this girl was, was moving with such grace and speed only seen by the Anbu forces she kept hearing so much about. But why would an Anbu be involved with Naruto? Better yet, why would a _female _Anbu be involved with Naruto? If Naruto was seeing this woman, then chances were she wouldn't be able to recognize her identity.

Still, curiosity got the best of her and thus she approached their position as stealthy as she could.

Blissfully unaware of the chunnin's presence, Naruto and Yuugao increased the pace of their movements as both of them started sweating from the exercise. Both of them parried blow by blow, each time, feeling better and better about the whole thing. Eventually, the amount of sweat and closure experimented by the couple weakened their bodies and the hormones were slowly taking over, allowing their minds access to previous images of both during love making. In no time, neither could take their eyes away from the other as they parried the weapons one last time, before Yuugao threw her sword on the ground and landed her lips on Naruto's quite violently, as they fell on the ground, making out with each other. Suddenly, the noise of steps approaching warned both of them.

"Looks like we've got company, we have to go..." Naruto said, before she nodded. With a good use of the shunshin, Naruto and Yuugao appeared inside her house.

As soon as Sakura appeared closer to Naruto and the mysterious woman's location, still too shocked to see the woman pretty much jumping on her teammate, she didn't even register that no one was there anymore.

The pink haired meddler looked around for any presence at all, almost scared wondering if she was hallucinating the entire time. _It couldn't be possible that an Anbu kunoichi was that much interested in Naruto..._

_**

* * *

**_

_**===Inside Yuugao's apartment=== (lemon sequence...been a while, haven't it?)**_

As soon as they teleported inside, both Naruto and Yuugao were already being controlled by their raging hormones. It was like this after a heated spar below the full moon and Naruto had to say…he wished every night was a full moon. Their clothes were gone in an instant as the two made out in the middle living room, kissing each other while using their hands to massage the other's body. It was quite frantic and they didn't even register the lamp they broke when Yuugao threw Naruto towards the nearby wall and literally took possession of his mouth. The blond wasn't idiot enough to take charge this time around, seeing as he enjoyed seeing the woman out of control.

It didn't mean that he was in full control either.

Eventually, their kissing session took them to Yuugao's room, before Naruto bit her lip slightly, before carrying his lover bridal style towards the bed. Yuugao, for her part, swore she felt her legs tremble when Naruto fiercely grabbed her. He gently placed her on the bed, before already getting into position between her legs. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to skip foreplay and go straight to the dessert. The couple maintained the hot make out session for quite a while, before both felt that it was time to explore other areas of interest. Naruto's hands began massaging Yuugao's right breast, while he played with left one, using his tongue. The woman began seeing stars at such level of arousal. The soft touch of his hand combined with his tongue sent her out of control as she massaged his hair, while bending her body backwards in ecstasy. Naruto did know how to push her buttons, she reasoned as with her free hand, she began to pass it gently throughout her lips, enjoying every moment of it. Her other hand was busy admiring Naruto's body muscles. She would slowly pass it along his back, then his shoulders all the way to his wrists.

"I'm seeing you're enjoying this Yuugao-chan, why don't we take it up a notch, shall we?"

The Anbu captain took a long breath as she knew what Naruto meant by that. His tongue, slowly, went to her well defined abdomen, shaped by years and years of continuous training. By this time, she was gently biting her lower lip as Naruto's tongue reached its objective. Instantly, Yuugao's head was thrown backwards pretty, while Naruto did everything and more to make her lose her mind completely. Both her hands stopped feeling Naruto's muscles and went for the now wet sheets, before she squeezed them in pure delight. The blond's tongue was gentle, but strangely fierce. It was like it had a mind of its own, reaching for the exact spot that always made her lose control.

"Oh god, yeah keep going Naruto-kun…"

She grabbed his golden hair and forced his head closer to her, resulting in his tongue finding more room to clean. Eventually, Yuugao could feel her walls closing and her body trembling. She was almost on the verge of having an orgasm when Naruto used a different but equally satisfying weapon, his finger. Yuugao had only a preview of the future intercourse, before she couldn't hold it anymore and let everything out, screaming his name while ripping the sheets that would have to be changed after the love making. While Naruto looked at her with a perverted smile on his face, Yuugao took a few short breaths, before she flipped him off, getting on top of him before the blond even acknowledged what happened. He did know, though, the woman's intention as he felt her lips gently licking the tip of his was one of her ways of teasing him, before going for it. When she put it inside her mouth, Naruto's eyes lost his color as he moaned her name in a form of a whisper. Yuugao smiled as she was fully intent in doing the same thing he did to her.

Naruto's chances of survival went to the floor when Yuugao decide to use her hand as well for aid. Needless to say, he was seeing stars right now.

Yuugao, after a while, remained with the hand gesture, as she met his lips in another passionate kiss. "I bet you're having trouble holding yourself back, aren't you Naruto-kun?" His nod was all she wanted to see, before she started whispering close to his ear.

"_Why don't we take it up a notch…huh?" _

As soon as Naruto's already blurred mind processed what she meant by that, Yuugao already placed a condom on his member and positioned it inside of hers. She moved her hips slowly first, in order to be better acquainted with Naruto's member. It was such a good feeling as Yuugao moaned Naruto's name the entire time, while occasionally increasing the speed and strength. She could hear Naruto's silent moans, asking to feel more of it. She wasn't going to deny his wish, seeing as she also wanted it more and more. Eventually, she went a little further down and Naruto's member ended up reaching the end of the tunnel.

She loved it.

After a while in said position, it was Naruto's time to take control as he flipped her as well, before spreading her legs and thrusting it inside, earning a delicate moan from Yuugao, which he just found he couldn't live without it. By now, the dirty talk appeared as nicknames were exchanged between the couple; nothing extreme, though, only enough to spice the mood. The couple found mutually comfortable in this position, thus Naruto remained performing the same movement, while feeling the walls tighten around his member, indicating that Yuugao was on the verge of losing it. Also, he couldn't say he was in a better position as both increased the volume of their screams. It didn't take long before both had their orgasms and instantly, fell asleep in exhaustion. They were sparring before!

* * *

_**===next day===**_

Naruto and Yuugao both woke up as soon as the sun light invaded the room. Yuugao, though, was hesitating to get up under Naruto's chest, which caused Naruto to smile. Eventually, though, she had to leave seeing as she needed to reach the headquarters in less than an hour. Naruto, for his part, didn't have many obligations in the morning, seeing as he just came back from a mission and his sensei was at least three hours late for everything. After taking a shower, he prepared a quick breakfast for the couple while Yuugao took a quick shower. As he cooked the meal, memories of last night kept invading his brain. It still surprised him how different Yuugao was from the usual reserved kunoichi she appeared while on missions or outside the bedroom. He almost forgot that he was the one cooking upon remembering the new position they tried yesterday. His mind was split between remembering what happened and cooking breakfast, so he didn't even register that his girlfriend was right behind him.

"I enjoyed it last night, Naruto-kun, how about you?" Yuugao whispered close to his ear, while passing her hands around Naruto's body.

"You know that by doing that, you risk arriving late at the Headquarters, right. Not that I'm complaining, just saying…" the woman smirked and kissed him on the neck before going to her room to get dressed for work, while Naruto was busy serving breakfast on the table. As soon as she got out, though, she saw Naruto looking at her with a perverted smile on his face. "I can't help it…you look so sexy in your Anbu clothes, Yuugao-chan". Yuugao smiled once more and approached at the blond in an attempt to arouse the blond even more, which was working. The blond always had this fantasy of being interrogated by the sexy Anbu kunoichi, which they did pretty often. Yuugao for her part loved how she could seduce her lover; it made her feel special in ways that was long forgotten. After the teasing session, Yuugao took a seat next to the blond as she started eating breakfast, while engrossing in some light conversation regarding Naruto's list of activities for today.

Tsunade gave his team a couple days off to fully recuperate before going back to active duty, so the blond was free to wander around. So, she guessed he would do his second favorite activity…training

**(AN: Points to anyone who figure out his favorite activity, considering this chapter!)**

"I think I'm going to train a bit. I'm still not close to mastering the _**Suiton Suishouha**_ technique and it's bothering me. Afterwards, I don't know, I guess I'll see if Kakashi wants something" Naruto wanted to train using the Kyuubi's power, but he couldn't do it inside the village, unless he wanted the entire ninja population after him. He supposed it would be alright to train some other skills as well, since he wouldn't do anything else for the entire day. Yuugao nodded, before drinking the entire milk bottle quickly and placing her mask on. She didn't cover her face until she gave her boyfriend a kiss. After that, Yuugao opened her door and left towards the Anbu Headquarters, leaving Naruto. After a few minutes, he left as well with the same clothes he used the night before.

It didn't make sense to change, seeing as he would train once more.

Stretching his limbs a bit, Naruto jumped towards the nearby rooftops towards the training ground that he used alongside Yuugao. He needed a nearby water source to perform the jutsu. He managed, one time, to perform a minor C-ranked technique without water nearby, but it required too much chakra, even for him. How the Nidaime Hokage did it, he would never know. Maybe that's why he became the Nidaime in the first place, thought the blond as he jumped through the small buildings like it was routine. It didn't take long for the training ground to appear on the horizon. As soon as he landed, he stopped to look around a bit, wondering if someone was already using it. Something he picked from Yuugao, if it wasn't team training, then, he didn't like sharing training grounds with a stranger. Since he didn't sense anyone, the blond smiled and approached the lake in order to begin some light manipulation exercises to ease the chakra flowing inside his tenketsus. It involved the creation of small whirlpools. After he was done, he started making the hand seals sequence for one of the Nidaime Hokage's trademark techniques, the _**Suiton Suishouha**_ (Water Release: Water Collision Destruction Technique). Naruto, by no means, wanted to possess the Nidaime's level of control over water chakra, simply because it wasn't his affinity.

He merely wished to have a suitable arsenal of techniques to help him in case his prime affinity isn't the best course of action.

After feeling comfortable enough to practice the jutsu, Naruto started the hand seal sequence, while molding the necessary chakra for it.

* * *

_**===With Kakashi===**_

A couple hours later, Kakashi was seen wandering around Konoha. He was supposed to meet Tenzou, who was given the codename Yamato by the Hokage, in front of the Hokage's office. He wondered about something interesting, though. Yamato was Yuugao's second in command. So much strange coincidences surrounded them, Kakashi mused. Yuugao was Kakashi's subordinate as an Anbu junior, who afterward, was assigned to command Yamato's team and now she's dating Kakashi's student Naruto. In a weird sort of way, the bond was formed. As Kakashi approached the front of the administrative building, he saw Yamato already there, looking quite angry.

The probable reason was that Kakashi was two hours late for their meeting, but it could be anything.

Upon seeing the man to whom Yamato considered testing every available killing technique out there, he controlled his breathing a little bit, in order to calm down. You just don't make someone wait for two hours, it's just inhuman!

"Sorry for being late Yamato, you see a black cat crossed my path and I had to take a different path to come here…"

Instantly, Yamato's brain conjured a scene of the wood user slamming Kakashi's face with a tree log.

"Kakashi-sempai, I almost forgot about your excuses for being late. Now, I was already briefed by Hokage-sama regarding Naruto-kun's situation. I understand he already gained control over two tails worth of the Kyuubi's chakra"

"From what I saw, yes. We should meet him. I'll bet that right now he's either eating some ramen or training. Personally, I'd go for Training Ground Number 20. It's his favorite…" Yamato nodded, as he followed Kakashi.

"Isn't training ground 20, Yuugao-taichou's favorite as well?" Kakashi smiled at the question.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence…."

* * *

_**===At the Training Ground number 20===**_

As soon as Kakashi and Yamato reached the training ground, they could see two different pillars one made from wind and another from water. As such, they wondered if perhaps Naruto wasn't alone using the field. However, upon seeing closer, they concluded that they were two Narutos, instead of two different shinobi. One was on top of the lake, focusing on gathering the water around his body, before creating a tidal wave towards the waterfall twenty minutes in front of the blond. Both Jounin recognized the technique and wondered why Naruto was attempting such a chakra taxing technique. If they weren't mistaken, the only one who ever used such technique was the Nidaime Hokage and he only used it because of his unusual mastery of water ninjutsu.

On the other side of the field, another Naruto, to whom both Kakashi and Yamato believed to be a kage bunshin, was seated in a lotus like position with his eyes closed, while maintaining a spinning hurricane around his body.

"Ah the wonders of unlimited chakra supply, huh Yamato? Just imagine how much he could do with the fox's chakra" The wood user could only nod dumbly as his eyes skipped between looking at the real one and the clone, presuming that the one doing the water exercise was the real one.

"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?"

A sudden voice alerted the two jounins and they turned to see a third Naruto holding a metalized bo-staff with his right hand. The scarecrow jounin was slightly surprised since he supposed that Naruto had summoned only one clone to aid him in training. The fact that he, now, couldn't say for sure, which of the three was the real one. Then, he remembered that Naruto's kage bunshin training was useless when it came to physical skills. Therefore, the real one was the one practicing with the bo-staff. However, now that he certified that, the man was even more surprised than before. If the ones doing the elemental training were mere clones, then how could they use as much chakra as a high level jounin and not be dispelled. _To think the boy's chakra coils haven't fully expanded yet…even without the fox's chakra, Naruto's chakra supply is off the charts. _

"Seriously, Kakashi-sensei, do you need anything? You kind of spaced out for a minute there…" Naruto even poked his sensei a few times, which managed to awake Kakashi from his musings.

"Oh sorry Naruto…well, I'd like to introduce you to our team's new member Yamato. Tsunade-sama felt that since we ended up facing not one but four members of Akatsuki, it would be best if another jounin level shinobi joined as well" Naruto nodded and shook hands with Yamato, before Kakashi started speaking once more. "He also has another purpose, Naruto. From what I saw from your fight against Sasori, you managed to hold your own with two tails worth of chakra without losing control to the fox. I can see you improved a lot in this regard, since before you left, you couldn't hold one tail, before getting affected by the fox's urges. Yamato, here, will aid you in better acquainting yourself with the fox's chakra so to speak...probably reaching three tails worth of chakra with four being your conscious limit according to Jiraiya-sama"

On the outside, Naruto nodded and turned to look at Yamato, but on the inside, he was cursing his existence as he knew that upon granting Kyuubi access to his senses, he knew the damn fox ended up hearing everything. No doubt, he would be ecstatic if Naruto managed to use not one but three tails worth of power.

"Not that I don't believe you two, but how is he able to help? I mean, even Ero-sensei found it hard to upgrade to a third tail?"

"That's simple…Yamato here is a wood user" Upon hearing it, Naruto widen his eyes a bit at the revelation and turned to Yamato.

"Are you related to the Shodaime or the Godaime Hokage? How can you use mokuton and what does that have to do with anything?" As soon as Kakashi was about to respond, Yamato interrupted him and explained to the blond chunnin.

"Naruto, I'm not in any sort of way related to the Senju Clan. I can use mokuton because I was the only kid from sixty that managed to survive Orochimaru's little experiment. The man tried to replicate the Shodaime's use of mokuton ninjutsu, so he used me as well as other test subjects. Now regarding your other question, the Shodaime Hokage, as you may or may not know, managed to control the bijuus (tailed beasts) to his will. As a result of the experiment, I retained a bit of said skill. Therefore, if you by any chance lose control to the fox's chakra, I'll be there to…let's say…save you from destroying everything in your path so to speak. Now, apart from that, I obtained mastery in suiton ninjutsu. So, I could give you some pointers with it, if you so wish" Naruto nodded at the man, even though he had an excellent teacher sleeping with him.

"I would appreciate all the help I can get, then, thank you Yamato-san. However, I fear that if we want to train me in getting used to the fox's chakra, it's probably best to do so in a more secluded place. Two tails is quite enough to for the entire village to feel it and demand my execution"

"Don't worry Naruto, with Yamato here on the job; you don't have to worry about it, right Yamato"

Yamato nodded, though the Anbu silently pondered if he had enough chakra to subdue someone like Naruto when the time came.

The boy had already four times the Anbu's chakra and that didn't count the fox. Naruto soon dispelled his two clones, one by one, while closing his eyes so not to suffer the backlash of too much information at once. After that, he felt his stomach growling and looked at the jounin with a smile on his face.

"Anyone up for some lunch?"

* * *

_**===At the Hokage's Office===**_

Swamped in paperwork duties, Tsunade stamped her signature on documents dully separated by her assistant Shizune. Her face indicated clear boredom upon facing what every kage had to do pretty much every day. It was quite infuriating to say the least. The woman just wanted to learn some minor fire jutsu so that she could burn everything. Her assistant, on the other hand, was very displeased at her master's lack of proper decor while behind the most powerful desk in Konohagakure. Eventually, the papers were finished, but Tsunade's arm was on auto-pilot and stamped the table repeatedly. If it wasn't for Shizune nearby to wake her up, she would have stamped her entire office, without realizing.

"Shizune, I'm going to create a D-ranked mission, stamp these damn documents every day. Select one fresh out of the academy genin for the job…will ya?"

Her eyes were almost shut and Shizune wondered if her master was already asleep. She wasn't even considering carrying out the order.

It wasn't the first time as she remembered Tsunade saying, one time, that she would select a chunnin and place him in a genjutsu so that he would appear like her and attend a boring meeting with some of Konoha's steel suppliers. Shizune was about to leave the office, when a chunnin had the stupidest idea to barge in screaming. He was sent flying by a paper weight that was thrown by a still sleeping Hokage. The man was nurturing his head bump, while Shizune approached and picked up the piece of paper that he wanted to inform Tsunade about. Taking a moment to read it, she, then, gave it to the Hokage who took the paper, before even opening her eyes. When she read it, a sigh escape her lips at the Kazekage's request. Apparently, Gaara conversed with Naruto in order to warn the other kages about the Akatsuki threat and, thus, he sent a letter to the Raikage containing information Suna had on the organization. It wasn't as extensive as Jiraiya's, but no village would reject information about S-ranked criminals.

The Raikage did, though, as according to Gaara, the man just disregarded the organization as a threat simply because Suna was the weakest of the hidden villages and a threat to them was considered a minor pest to the rest of the hidden villages. Tsunade knew some info about the proud Raikage. The man's pride was as big as his own muscles and no doubt, he would openly disregard Suna's preoccupations. Apparently Gaara thought so as well, since he asked that Konoha did the same thing. Tsunade smirked at Gaara's reasons. As inexperienced as he was on the job, the boy was highly intelligent. She saw similar skill in Nara Shikamaru. Gaara even came up with the best team to send towards Kumogakure and persuade the Raikage into accepting the fact that Akatsuki is indeed a threat and shouldn't be underestimated. The Hokage knew Naruto to be highly skilled when it came to fighting tough enemies, but the boy lacked the necessary experience in missions that didn't only require a kunai and his fists.

_It would be his first diplomacy mission into another hidden village…_

"Shizune, I know that I ended up giving Team Kakashi the day off, but please assemble them for me. I'm sending them on a B-ranked mission towards Kumo"

* * *

_**Author Note**_

How will the Raikage react when confronted by Kakashi? Will Naruto meet any of Kumo's two jinchuuriki?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

As I mentioned before, I'm not following the actual Shippuuden timeline not even what happened so far. What would be the point of repeating the same story from canon! The fact that Naruto received a better training set things in motion and different things happened. Sasori, for instance, didn't reveal that he would be meeting his spy at the Tenchi (Heaven and Earth) Bridge in Grass Country's territory. That being said, there won't be any Sasuke retrieval arc for the time being. Eventually, I'll bring Sasuke into the story, but not right now. Now, I want to receive as much reviews as possible from everyone. Feedback of your work is important both to correct some mistakes and allow discussions between the author and the reader.

Take care!


	14. Land of Lightning

**Author Note**

Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

Last chapter, Gaara and Naruto agreed to notify other villages regarding the danger posed by Akatsuki. This way, they could avoid other Jinchuurikis from being captured by the organization. Gaara sent a letter to Tsunade so that Konoha could convince the Raikage regarding the organization and how Kumogakure must act towards their Jinchuurikis protection. Thus, Tsunade called in Team Kakashi and passed the mission to them. Will they be able to convince the proud Kage or they will return with the same answer given to Sunagakure.

Check it out and see what happens!

* * *

**Chapter 14 – The Land of Lightning**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

After the Hokage's order, it didn't take more than half an hour for Team Kakashi to appear at the Hokage's office for a new mission. Well, at least Naruto, Sakura and Yamato were already present. Quite to the Hokage's dismay, Kakashi was still due to show up. Kakashi was one of Konoha's top elite jounin and it was only because of this that Tsunade tolerated the man's habit of tardiness. Anyone else would be punished severely. Meanwhile, she guessed that it would be a good time as any to introduce the fourth member of the team to Sakura. The girl was looking at him the entire time anyway, probably wondering who he was and what was he doing here as well seeing as only Team Kakashi was summoned for this new B-ranked mission.

"Well, seeing as your sensei is still due to arrive, I might as well tell you about some changes to the team Sakura" By the mention of her name, the medic chunnin looked at the Hokage. "The jounin next to Naruto will answer by the name of Yamato, he's an Anbu, so his identity is to remain secret. I trust that with the amount of time you passed with me and Shizune, you can understand that. The reason behind his addition is that Team Kakashi isn't yet complete. A four-man unit is standard Konoha protocol and not meant for genin teams alone. He'll be the last addition to the team as second in command. Usually, I'd be placing an equally skilled shinobi, a chunnin, but with the enemies we're facing now, a jounin level shinobi is better suited to face the enemies Team Kakashi will be facing. I have high expectations that this team will be one of the strongest ever"

Sakura nodded as she looked at Naruto.

She knew about the Akatsuki from their last mission towards Sunagakure. What she didn't know, however, is why they were after Team Kakashi. She knew that Kakashi had an entire page in the bingo book and Yamato was an Anbu, so it was hard for anyone to know who he really is, thus, targeting him was out of the question. That left herself and her teammate Naruto. She doubted that anything she ever did in her career managed to piss anyone to the point that someone would want her head for it. Naruto, on the other hand, remained a mystery. She remembered how Akatsuki went after Gaara because he was the One-Tailed Jinchuuriki and she also remembered that Kakashi said something about Naruto sharing the same fate as Gaara.

It couldn't be that Naruto was a jinchuuriki as well, right? If it was true, then someone would have told her, seeing as they were teammates, right?

So many mysteries surrounded Naruto, she reasoned. By looking at his aloof and neutral expression, she couldn't read him like she used to. Before, he was as open as a book, screaming his opinions never once keeping it to himself. Now, he was collected, even aloof to the situation. She was half expecting him to question the Hokage's decision in front of everyone, or at least question the necessity of even adding a fourth member without any need, in his book. He did nothing, though. It frightened her that someone could change so much in such a short time. Not once did he give her any indication that his previous behavior was a front, a cover-up.

Sakura stopped her musings, once Kakashi entered with hands on his pockets, greeting everyone. He even greeted the pissed off Hokage, who was slowly considering punishing the man for his tardiness habit.

'_Top elite my ass, next time I'm sure to punch him in the face to wipe that smile off his…'_

"About time you got here Kakashi. Now, that everyone is here, I'll begin. As you all know, the Akatsuki is a powerful organization whose single goal, or at least what we're aware of, is hunting the Bijuus. Therefore, the Kazekage tried sending a letter to Kumogakure in order to let them know of said threat. The Yondaime Raikage dismissed Gaara's concern, though, arguing it to be futile, considering Suna's reputation as the weakest hidden village. Because of the rejection, Gaara asked us to assist in convincing the Raikage of the danger posed by the organization. This will be your mission, Team Kakashi. We already arranged a copy of everything Jiraiya and Konoha gathered on them to be delivered to the Raikage. The success of this mission is to convince the Raikage to listen to what we have to say or at least take a look at our file, that's all. It's considered a B-ranked mission"

Neither Sakura nor Naruto has been to Kumogakure before, and they smiled at the prospect of visiting another hidden village, besides Sunagakure.

Kakashi just picked the sealing scroll with the information on Akatsuki, before turning to the Hokage. "What guaranties do we have that the Raikage will even listen to us? If Gaara himself signed the letter, than anyone below Kage level would receive the same answer. Perhaps, this mission is better suited to Jiraiya-sama or even you Hokage-sama?" The fact that Kakashi questioned the Hokage's orders could have irritated anyone in command, but not Tsunade for the single fact that Kakashi had loads of experience out there and his opinion mattered a lot to her. She indeed thought about what Kakashi had said. Why would the Raikage value more Kakashi's position than the Kazekage himself? Sure, the Yondaime Raikage must have known that Gaara was perhaps the youngest shinobi to take the Kage's position and that alone showed a village's weakness. Kakashi, however, was respected by everyone because of his skills and achievements over the years. Surely, if Konoha sent a person like Kakashi to inform Kumo, then they would know that the problem was indeed serious.

"I thought of that, believe me. First, that pervert is rather difficult to track and I don't want to waste my time finding him and convincing him. Second of all, where Gaara is a Kage, he's rather inexperienced. The Raikage respects strength, thus upon seeing you, he'll know that something is up. If he still does not believe, then there is nothing we can do except convince the man to accept the information regarding the Akatsuki. As I recall, Kumo has two Jinchuurikis and one of them happens to be the Raikage's brother. You could use this to…let's say…improve your odds of success" Kakashi nodded, before ushering his team to meet him at the gates. The man vanished soon after, leaving the three other members to leave, using the door. Before they left, though, the Hokage ushered Naruto to stay a moment. Yamato left right away, but Sakura remained looking at both Tsunade and Naruto for a few seconds, before leaving as well.

"Naruto, as strong and skilled as you managed to become under Jiraiya's tutelage, this mission won't require any of it. It's a diplomatic assignment involving a kage from another village, hence the rank given" The blond nodded as he knew where the Hokage was going with this. Indeed, the boy wasn't known for his social skills or his inaptude to stay silent, opting from time to time to voice his frustrations out loud. He only listened to the woman, though, without responding it right away. "Although the Raikage is not known for formalities, let Kakashi do all the talking. I know that you want to protect the other Jinchuurikis from being captured, but this is a sensitive situation and needs to be treated as such." Tsunade was reluctant with even assigning this mission, considering the possible ramifications between villages. She didn't want to focus on Akatsuki as well as another war.

"I understand Tsunade-baachan." The name itself brought a smile as he continued. "I won't open my mouth unless someone asks me a question directly. I do have one question, though, about Sakura. While she has yet to know, I don't believe that Kumo will be secretive about it. What if she hears from the Raikage that I'm also one of them? Wouldn't it be best if she didn't come along?" Tsunade nodded and smiled at the question. Something that she never thought would happen, but Naruto did show an improvement in intellect, even if it was innacurate in this case.

"Kakashi is aware of this, Naruto. He knows how to talk to others, without giving too much information. Now, seeing as you're now thinking ahead, which I congratulate you for, let's take your suggestion and analyze it, shall we? What would happen if Sakura knew that her entire team was sent on a mission without her? The girl is smart and she'd know something was off, immediately. Afterwards, she would fetch for the reason and that's where the problem is. She would work hard, but eventually she would have an answer and it might actually be the actual hidden truth that you don't want her to know about." The blond nodded with a smile, as he didn't think of the problem from said angle. But before he could acknowledge a response, Tsunade jumped in with another question. "Naruto, Sakura is your teammate. If you want her to trust you with protecting you, I believe she must know about it. And it works best if she gets to hear it from you."

Naruto looked at the Hokage in surprise at the advice.

"The decision is yours Naruto. The law forbids anyone but you from speaking the truth. Take the time from the trip towards Kumo and choose whether you think that Sakura should be made aware of your situation or not. Now, I believe you must be quick in assembling your gear for the trip. It's almost time for you to meet your team, I believe" The blond nodded and left like Kakashi did, using a shunshin, leaving the Hokage alone with her work. She knew that the boy was conflicted about said topic. She knew that it wasn't the topic alone, but rather to whom she asked Naruto to tell. Sakura maybe his teammate, but the two shared a history together. Even though Naruto moved on with Yuugao, Sakura was still part of his genin team. It would be the same with Sasuke, if the damn kid didn't betray Konoha.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After leaving Tsunade's office, the blond went straight home where he packed everything he needed for the trip. He separated some clean clothes, a spare set of kunais and shurikens, some empty scrolls just in case and his bo-staff and sealed everything inside a larger scroll, before placing it inside a hidden pocket on his special vest. The entire procedure took no longer than five minutes, so he had some time before he needed to meet his team for the mission. He went to a small balcony where he just stood, looking towards the clouded sky, at the same time wondering about what the Hokage said about him telling Sakura about the Kyuubi.

The law created by the Third stipulated that only he and he alone could divulge his position as a jinchuuriki. Others, though, would meet the death penalty. Therefore, if he was to inform Sakura, then she wouldn't be able to tell others, unless she wanted to give up her life. That being said, even if he told her, his secret would, in theory, be safe with Sakura. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her. He was only scared of what would happen if for some reason, the news reached everyone within Konohagakure. It was a risk that he didn't want to take, thus he supposed it would be better to tell her once they were a few miles away from the village. He also had to tell her about the law. He knew that the chance of her being pissed at him for keeping the information from her was one hundred and ten percent, thus he reasoned he could use the same weapon against Kakashi, when the man questioned about his new skills.

Once the time was up for him to leave, he left a note on top of the kitchen table in case Yuugao comes looking for him. He didn't have time to tell her personally, but something inside him knew that she wouldn't need a note to know when Naruto was available or away for a mission. Such is the privilege of being an Anbu captain, he smiled. He locked his door and jumped towards the nearby rooftop, towards the gates, but not before greeting the weirdest neighbor ever, one called Maito Gai.

As he hopped between buildings, the blond thought about the Raikage and his personality.

Tsunade said that the man was a proud warrior, who only respected strength and skill. He wondered if the man would dismiss Konoha's concerns just as he dismissed Suna's. Having not one but two highly trained Jinchuuriki probably let him assume that no organization would be strong enough or even capable of capturing one of Kumo's Jinchuurikis. In Naruto's opinion, that way of thinking was ludicrous, considering that one of the Akatsuki members managed to capture Gaara and he was the damn Kazekage. No matter how tough the two-tailed and the eight-tailed jinchuuriki were, Akatsuki knew how to deal with them. The known members of the organization possessed powers that could easily subdue any shinobi. Kisame had his sword which was able to eat chakra. Itachi had his Mangenkyou Sharingan. The other two they knew were dead, but so far only four members were revealed. The others still remain hidden somewhere, but there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they were as powerful as the already known ones, if not more.

As soon as he reached the gates where he was supposed to meet his team, Naruto wasn't surprised to see Sakura and Yamato already there, engaged in some sort of conversation. He supposed that Kakashi would take at least another half an hour to arrive. The chunnin wasn't much thrilled about having to wait for Kakashi together with Sakura. If by any measure of bad luck, they run out of topics to talk about, there was a huge possibility that the girl would ask questions about their mission and the Jinchuurikis. Naruto wanted to tell her, but he couldn't do it, so close to the village. His presence alerted Sakura and Yamato as they turned to the approaching form of Naruto. The blond waved at them as he approached their position.

"I take it Kakashi-sensei is late once more…" Naruto asked, already coming with a subject to distract Sakura for the time being.

"No surprise there! It's quite infuriating…the worst part is that we never know what he's doing, instead of meeting his team" Yamato smirked at this. _Apparently, Sempai's tardiness is well-known throughout the entire village_.

The three conversed for a while about multiple topics, ranging from Lightning Country's geography to the respective hidden ninja village called Kumogakure. Naruto thanked the heavens for Sakura's never ending curiosity about other countries. She didn't stop asking questions to Yamato about Lightning Country and Kumogakure, regarding its population, its shinobi, their skills in combat, among other subjects. Surprisingly, Yamato knew quite a lot about the region, to which Naruto assumed that Yamato was sent there on quite a few occasions to investigate or even, he dared, infiltrate. In the end, Yamato managed to hold Sakura's focus enough time so that when the topic was finished, Kakashi appeared via shunshin, showing a happy salute to everyone.

"You're late Kakashi-sensei!" Everyone flinched at the woman's angry tone, though for one simple reason. Sakura had the Hokage's freakishly strength. One punch could be their end!

It didn't mean that Kakashi wouldn't throw his usually lame excuses, though.

"Ah…sorry about that Sakura, you see an old lady was having difficulty carrying her bags, so I decided to help her. Her house was pretty far, though" The man was scratching his head in fake embarrassment, but he managed his point across. After a long time doing the same thing over and over again, Kakashi became a professional at being late and inventing lame excuses for such. He, thus, lead others to believe that nothing out of the ordinary happened, just like he wished others to think. It wouldn't do for others to know what he really does every day. "Okay Team, let's move towards Kumogakure. If we move faster, chances are we reach the village entrance in three days. Let's move…Naruto you take the lead. Sakura and Yamato will be in the middle and I'll take the rear." The team nodded, before they vanished towards Lightning Country's Ninja Village.

* * *

**===In River Country===**

The battle that took place between Deidara and the ninjas from Konoha ended up leveling a few sectors of the forest near the cave where the Ichibi no Shukaku was almost extracted. There were rocks and debris everywhere as a result of Deidara's final ninjutsu, composed basically of blowing himself up after using his clay. It was quite an ending to a powerful shinobi, blowing himself up in order to take out as many enemies as possible. Unluckily for him, the blast was disrupted by a low-level but quite useful wind jutsu, courtesy of Konoha's Jinchuuriki. Suddenly, someone or rather something emerged from the ground. It appeared to be some kind of plant, before a portion of cloth could be seen, as if the plant was wearing clothes. When it fully emerged, the vines opened up, revealing a strange human being, half white and half black.

Upon further inspection, a scratched Kusagakure headband could be seen, indicating that this man, if he could be called that, was a missing-nin.

He looked around the destroyed forest for any signs of what he was looking for. The loss of Deidara was a huge blow to Akatsuki, but what was more important was the ring the man wore. Zetsu was sent especially to collect the ring that every Akatsuki member had. Also, he was ordered to get rid of Deidara's body, after he found the ring. His acute hearing caught a faint noise of some rocks being moved, before surprisingly so, Deidara's head emerged from the ground, panting from lack of air. Zetsu looked at Deidara and smirked, though his other half wished the man was killed, so they could eat him.

"It seems you got your ass whooped Deidara…" The dark half said, much to the other half's amusement. The strong voice alerted the Iwa missing-nin, before he turned to meet his comrade Zetsu.

"Such a delight to see you too Zetsu, hn. One more word and I'll show you my art." By now, his entire body was out of the ground. Zetsu could see that even if the man managed to survive the explosion, his body took quite a lot of damage and it would take a little while to recover. Deidara, for his part, cursed Konoha for losing. Because of his suicide strategy, he didn't see what happened after he used his technique. He cursed at himself as well for not capturing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, before he remembered the fight. He never knew that Sasori-sempai could be beaten like that. They were equally matched, Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and Sasori, but it all changed once the Konoha shinobi used the fox's chakra. Sasori didn't have a chance and certainly he didn't as well.

Next time, the story will be different, Deidara reasoned. He now had some unfinished business with Naruto.

* * *

**===Heaven and Earth Bridge===**

A great distance away from the events, a long hooded figure approached the bridge from the west side. The scenery was quite peculiar, as from both sides of the bridge, the same forest could be seen. It looked like a major earthquake happened here some time ago and separated what was once a united land. The mysterious human being looked that no one was on top of the bridge, which to him sounded odd, seeing as his master was quite clear that they were to meet and he knew that when Sasori said something, he meant it.

As soon as he stepped on the bridge and walked all the way to the middle, he realized that something wasn't right.

He couldn't sense the presence of his master approaching from the other side, which meant that something must have happened to him. He looked briefly to his back and saw the place where his real master was hidden. He gave a brief flare of chakra and immediately Orochimaru appeared behind his second in command Kabuto. Orochimaru knew about Sasori's control over Kabuto and managed to break the seal placed by Sasori. He was using this opportunity to kill Sasori once and for all, thus diminish Akatsuki's numbers. A puppet master of Sasori's caliber would be quite troublesome to deal with and the snake sannin didn't know what Sasori was capable of.

"So the rumors are true, then…" Kabuto said, earning a nod from Orochimaru.

"It appears so, Kabuto. It was said that Hatake Kakashi and the Kyuubi brat managed to defeat Sasori, when he attempted to capture the One-tailed Jinchuuriki and Kazekage of Sunagakure. It' safe to believe that we are much closer to our goals now with Sasori's death and we didn't have to move a finger to do it" The smile on Orochimaru's face caused his second in command to smile as well. For now, Orochimaru and Konoha have a common enemy and seeing that Konoha has defeated not only one member, but two shows that Konoha was prepared to get rid of Orochimaru's enemy for him. Right now, the only hindrance to Orochimaru's life was the organization. And with Konoha defeating them one by one, Orochimaru's opposition vanishes. "Let's go back to the base Kabuto. The sooner that Sasuke-kun is ready, the sooner I can take over his body and finally reach my ambition" Kabuto smirked, before following his master back to their hidden base.

Neither of the two spotted the small toad that appeared from below the bridge. Jiraiya managed to follow Orochimaru's trail since he left Rice Country and wondered what he was doing near Grass Country. He heard the conversation and smirked at the fact that Orochimaru was scared of Akatsuki as well. It didn't bode well for him knowing that in a way, Konoha was doing his partner's dirty work. But he couldn't do anything about that. Akatsuki was after Naruto or rather the beast living inside of him. He couldn't afford to let the organization roam free, even if it means that he, or Konoha, will end up dealing with the enemy of their enemy Orochimaru. Nevertheless, his mission wasn't to kill Orochimaru, but rather to stop him from taking over Sasuke's body. Tsunade didn't give a rat's ass to the Uchiha's welfare, but she'd rather not allow Orochimaru to possess the Sharingan. The man had orders to kill Sasuke, if he had to.

As soon as he realized that no one would spot him, he followed the enemy's trail towards the hidden base. If Sasuke is there, then Jiraiya's mission will be over sooner than he expected.

* * *

**===Team Kakashi===**

Two days later and Team Kakashi had already crossed Lightning Country's border. From here on out, they were in hostile territory. So, it was mandatory not to attract attention until they reached the entrance of Kumogakure. As soon as the team crossed the border, they noticed the immense changes in scenery compared to Fire Country. Instead of miles and miles of forests, they could see an entire path of mountains surrounded by small rivers on the horizon. The path towards Kumogakure would be harder now considering that in order to cross the field they had to use chakra to jump between mountains. Sakura asked if there wasn't any _civilian _route towards the village, before Yamato explained that the only one was heavily patrolled by Kumo.

"Either way, they'll spot us as soon as we use chakra to hop between these mountains. Since the end of the war, Kumogakure opted to increase their ninja capacity, focusing more on increasing the patrols around the country. Sometime, we'll be seen by them anyway. Let's go…" Kakashi explained, earning a nod from his team as they jumped towards the nearby mountain. During their travel, Naruto and Sakura observed that clouds would hide the top of the mountains, which was quite interesting because they weren't travelling above the _real _clouds above. What no one knew or perhaps only the chunnins, was that the clouds served to hide the special detection seals that allowed Kumo to spot invaders. As soon as the first Konoha shinobi landed on the first mountain, the seal were activated, alerting Kumo.

Kakashi's only visible eye indicated that he already knew this.

He estimated that they would be approached by a team of Kumo in no more than two hours.

After passing about twenty miles of mountains, everyone's danger senses tingled. Naruto was the one that acted first, molding his chakra through hand seals. The others, seeing this, trusted their lives on him, gathering closer to his location. Immediately, a rain of shurikens charged at the Konoha group. Naruto was already in position, even before the projectiles appeared. No one expected such hostility from Kumogakure, but seeing as they just trespassed without authorization, ending up justifying said action.

_**Fuuton Shouheki no Jutsu**__ (Wind Release: Wind Barrier Technique)_

The blond focused the wind barrier in order to protect all four. The small typhoon projected around them managed to block the shurikens, just as the team landed on one of the mountains to the right. The team of Kumo landed on the mountain from the opposite side as both teams faced each other. It took a few minutes, before Kakashi cleaned his throat and took and step forward, as in showing that he was the leader of the team. Immediately, a very gorgeous blond woman kunoichi, with breasts as big as Tsunade's, stepped forward as well.

"Kumo Shinobi, we are here under orders from our Hokage in order to speak with your Raikage. It's of great importance that we deliver him a message" Samui just crossed her arms below her breast.

"Sharingan no Kakashi…as your Hokage should've known, it's customary to notify Raikage-sama prior to trespassing in our territory. By any means, we should interpret this lack of attention as an act of hostility and respond as such." The woman's voice was rather cold, showing that she had experience and skill to back up any sort of threat. Plus, the fact that she knew Kakashi showed that she didn't have anything against facing him in battle if needed be. The scarecrow jounin was by no means an amateur in diplomacy and responded as such.

"Konoha and Kumogakure are neutral with one another. As such, there is no obligation of a prior notice from the Hokage. The message is of great importance and it concerns Kumogakure greatly. Furthermore, by the way your team greeted us, it can be considered an act of hostility on our part as well. As I remember correctly, we allowed Kumo leniency for crossing our border without permission. Are you now saying that the same courtesy does not apply to Kumogakure?" The woman snorted at the response, but the man was right. Here she was hoping to at least win a verbal assault against the famous Sharingan no Kakashi. Plus, looking at the opposite team, she knew that the odds of Kumo winning were quite poor. They had two jounins, whereas she was the only jounin from her team. Also, she was quite uneasy upon looking at the blond chunnin from Konoha. Something about his chakra that felt familiar and that worried her greatly.

"Very well, I'll allow your team to go see the Raikage. But on the condition, that we escort you towards the village. Also, I'd advice not to try anything, as soon as we arrive, a team of Anbu will accompany us as well." The entire shinobi population of Kumo could follow them for all Kakashi cared. His mission was only to catch the Raikage's interest regarding Akatsuki and nothing more. His mission didn't require the Raikage to actually act upon his information, but only so that he actually listens and accepts the scroll containing the information.

"We accept."

As soon as Kakashi spoke, the team from Kumo started moving once more towards the village, followed by Team Kakashi. In no time, the clouds became thicker, creating a similar environment to Kirigakure, except that it wasn't exactly a heavy fog. Because of this, it became much more difficult to maneuver throughout the mountains. One of the aspects of being a hidden village is that it must be built in a place that can literally hide the village, so that enemies don't spot it easily. Suna had the desert and desert storms. Konoha was surrounded by forest, thus it was easy for the enemy to get lost or even alert the Anbu patrol before he or she reached the walls. Kirigakure was surrounded by a heavy mist that only one those who knew the path, managed to find Kirigakure. In order to enter Iwagakure, one had to go through different caves in order to find the right path. (AN: Just invented!)

Kumogakure was no different as the clouds made it almost impossible to even spot the village on the horizon. Like Kirigakure, one must know the right path or else they would be lost easily.

Nevertheless, the Konoha team focused on a simple formation that allowed everyone to follow the right path. With Kakashi first and Yamato last, he could see if Naruto or Sakura would move away from the right course. The entire trip took more or less six hours, before the hidden village finally appeared. The scenery didn't change much from the country's landscape. Several mountains surrounded by river. The Raikage tower could be seen at the highest mountain and rest of the village was scattered around the kage tower, at the lower mountains. Like the Kumo jounin promised, as soon as they passed through the village entrance, a squad of the village's Anbu appeared next to Samui, before both teams escorted the team from Konoha. They walked through a path that went from the village entrance directly to the Raikage's Tower. Instead of jumping through mountains like before, they choose to walk calmly towards the tower.

Like everyone expected, every single citizen from the village, being civilian or shinobi, stopped what they were doing and looked at the shinobis from Konoha. It wasn't every day that such a thing happened and some wondered what Konoha did to deserve such hostile treatment. Only the shinobi knew that this was basic procedure stated by the Yondaime Raikage. It not only served to prevent any enemy from retaliating but also to show to foreigners the strength of Kumogakure. A third purpose was to scare the enemy, but none of the members from Konoha showed any signs of being affected by said display of hostility. Of course, with two jounins and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, it wouldn't be a good idea to piss them off. It took little more than ten minutes before the entrance of the Raikage Tower was visible. The leader of the Anbu squad, then, turned to Samui and told her that his squad would accompany Konoha's team from now on. The woman nodded, before her team vanished with a lightning shunshin.

He, then, turned to Kakashi.

"Hatake Kakashi, I expect that you treat Raikage-sama the respect he deserves. If one of your team even dares something, we'll be forced to take action."

The Anbu member even raised the killing intent to get his point across. It was useless however, as Kakashi just focused on his as well.

"Direct threats to my team will be met with the same level of hostility Anbu-san. I'll abide by your regulations, no problem. Your threats are unnecessary" The man nodded and ceased his intention before walking inside the tower. The team from Konoha soon followed. Sakura was beginning to cower under the pressure, but she managed to maintain her composure long enough not to show that she was intimidated by such level of aggressiveness. As a medic-nin, she wasn't accustomed to facing enemies trying to kill her. The Hokage used her killing intent on occasion, but Sakura, somehow, knew that the woman wouldn't finish her. Against Sasori was different, because the man was focusing in killing Elder Chiyo, not her.

Once inside, the team was surprised to see that inside the Kage Tower, was an enormous dojo where a lot of ninjas were found training their taijutsu. The Anbu saw their curiosity and decided to enlighten Konoha for a bit.

"Raikage-sama created this dojo in order to train our most gifted ninjas. Raikage-sama believes that any shinobi is strong given the appropriate training. Therefore, he established a list of objectives for every ninja under his care. Those who rise above it, gets access to this special dojo and access to high level techniques. Kakashi and Yamato nodded, while looking at some of the ninja trainees going through some taijutsu katas. Naruto spotted two chunnin his size and probably his age, sparring against one another. He smiled upon seeing the well-coordinated moves. He remembered how long he took to perfect his taijutsu and applauded Kumo's mentality. A part of him wished to test his ability against one of these guys. He saw that the area wasn't reserved for taijutsu only, but ninjutsu and kenjutsu as well. He knew from Yuugao that Kumogakure managed to train some nice kenjutsu users a couple years back. Perhaps, it started once the Yondaime Raikage started running the village. He was amazed at some elemental techniques that the ninjas practiced. A few he recognized, but others he didn't. His eyes landed on a brunette kunoichi that was performing a long sequence of hand seals and in front of her was a wooden dummy.

_**Fuuton Tsuingufuu Kansei **__(Wind Release: Twin Tornado Trap Technique)_

Instantly from both sides of the dummy, two tornados appeared, before the dummy was massacred under the pressure. Naruto smirked and began taking notes of the technique, hoping to incorporate to his arsenal as well. Briefly looking, he managed to see that it was a close-ranged technique and the seals sequence wasn't that different from some of his techniques. He turned his attention forward, so that none of the Anbu knew that he was spying on Kumo's techniques. He snorted, though, seeing that they were the ones who brought the team here. Plus, no one would expect someone to simply master a technique just by looking at it. It didn't mean that Naruto couldn't take notes and practice afterward, right? Soon, they reached the stairs that would lead straight to the Raikage's office. Climbing it took quite a while and Konoha team wondered behind the necessity of such a long set of stairs. It took close to ten minutes, before the office door was visible. The Anbu, then, turned to Kakashi and reminded him to show their respect to the Raikage. The squad soon vanished, but Kakashi and Yamato knew that they just entered the office and hid in the shadows, just like Konoha Anbu did.

When the door opened, the team from Konoha took a moment to see the Raikage's office and it didn't look much different than the Hokage's. The room was a bit more spacious and a few couches could be seen next to some shelves on the left corner. The Kage's desk, like Konoha, was placed near the back window. They all assumed that every Kage enjoyed getting up and looking at their village from the office. Now what was really shocking was seeing a man with white robes and the trademark kage hat in front of them and he was doing some biceps workout with weights that would probably be equivalent to a normal human being's on each side of the iron bar.

"So...it was quite surprising when this morning I found out that a team of Konoha tried to reach our village without my consent." His face was shadowed because of the lack of light in the room, but when it showed, the team from Konoha had a better look at his appearance, white hair and a thin mustache. The man showed his teeth a lot, Naruto mused. The Raikage used to scream a lot instead of speak, so it wasn't surprising that he would snarl at the enemy. He had the body build to carry any sort of threat though, not to mention that the man was a Kage level shinobi. His proficiency with lightning jutsu was what placed him behind this desk. The Raikage needed less than five seconds to study the team brought before him, before landing his eyes on the most immediate threat of the bunch, Kakashi. "So Hatake Kakashi, tell me…what was the Hokage thinking by sending someone like you to my beloved Kumogakure?"

Kakashi took a step forward and bowed in respect to the man, before looking at the Kage directly in the eye, which earned him even more respect from the Kage. The Raikage respected strength after all.

"Greetings Raikage-sama, first of all I'd like to extend Konoha's gratitude that you freed your busy schedule to attend us. And please bear in mind that the reason of us being here is of great importance. Given the fact that Akatsuki's…."

"I'll stop you right there Sharingan no Kakashi and ask if this is related to my dismissing the Kazekage's letter concerning some no name organization composed of S-ranked nins, which according to him, is after the tailed beasts" The smirk on the man's face indicated that he didn't need much of an answer and must have treated Gaara's letter with the same smirk on his face. "There was a time when Konohagakure was considered the strongest of the five great hidden villages. I've come to respect a great number of shinobis from Konoha. The Shodaime, his brother Nidaime, Hiruzen that old monkey, which was a great friend of mine and possibly the strongest shinobi of his time. The Yondaime Hokage was undefeated and even your father Konoha's White Fang. Now to see such a village cowering because of one organization composed of what, nine shinobi even if they were rumored to be S-ranked nin, it's quite pitiful. I'll give Konoha, the same answer that I gave to Suna." The comment even raised a few snorts from the man's secretary and even some of the hidden Anbu team, but none of the Konoha team was amused. In fact, Naruto was livid, but managed to control himself in front of the Raikage. However, the man wasn't Kage for nothing and looked at him the same instant.

"You even have the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki right there and you're still cowering…" As soon as the comment reached everyone's ears, Sakura was the one that looked at Naruto with worry.

* * *

_**Flashback on**_

_After one day of travelling, Team Kakashi decided to stop for twenty minutes. Naruto took this opportunity and called Sakura to talk with him alone for a while. Kakashi and Yamato already knew this was bound to happen sometime and it was better that he did it now, because surely the Raikage would, if he didn't. And the impact would be quite large on the level of confidence between one another. The law estimated that only Naruto could tell the truth about his condition and such, he would have to tell not only Sakura, but everyone he felt that needed to know. Naruto and Sakura walked for a while, before they reached a small lake surrounded by thick trees. _

"_What is it that you want to tell me Naruto?" The look in his eyes showed her that whatever the topic was, it was quite serious. The blond for his part, didn't want to tell her right now. But for the sake of the mission and for her trust in future times, he had to. _

"_Sakura, I was actually planning on telling you this on a later date, but seeing what this mission involves, I believe you have the right to hear it from me before you hear it from someone else, worst yet, someone you don't know" The woman nodded and surprisingly so, didn't utter a word in response. She never saw such seriousness in his look and it frightened her greatly. Ever since they met at the academy, the blond was always this happy go lucky idiot who smiled every day for no reason at all. They grew up and still the blond smiled at her. Only when he came back from his trip did he change and it wasn't subtle as she had thought it would be. Naruto took her silence as authorization to explain. "Our mission is to inform the Raikage of the Akatsuki organization so that he could better protect the jinchuuriki under his care, the two-tailed demon cat and the eight-tailed ox. There is a special reason, however, why the Hokage picked our team to act as messenger for the Raikage. Like Gaara, I happen to be a jinchuuriki as well…"_

_As soon as the words left his mouth, Sakura widened her eyes slowly as her mouth in dire shock. Instantly, her memories started showing her images of their interactions together. The fight at Wave Country, the Chunnin Exams, when Naruto used some mysterious red chakra and fought a man that Sasuke couldn't hope to defeat, using his bare hands. She also remembered that when their team roamed through Konoha, the villagers would look at the blond with hatred. Back then, she thought nothing of it, but now everything was explained. She, then, racked her brain in order to remember any event in Konoha concerning a tailed beast. It didn't take her more than ten seconds, before she looked at Naruto. _

"_You…you're the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?" Naruto could pick up her shocked tone and could only nod as her mind was making its own conclusions. "But….why you didn't tell me before? Why does everyone say the beast was killed by the Yondaime Hokage sixteen years ago?" _

_Naruto sighed and looked at her eyes for a moment. He didn't care as much if the woman would loathe him like some in the village still do. Still, some part of him figured that explaining to her in a way that wouldn't take away from their relationship as teammates at least. He went into teacher mode, remembering the explanation given to him by the Sandaime Hokage a long time ago. _

"_The Kyuubi no Yoko was a creature made entirely of energy. It didn't have a physical form. Thus, the only way for him to deal with the creature was to seal it somewhere. An object wouldn't be able to hold such a strong chakra and surely no scroll would be able to" Despite her shock, she heard every word. "Therefore, the only option the Yondaime Hokage had was to seal the beast into a human being. A grown up, with his chakra coils already developed, wouldn't be able to sustain the power as well, so that left a newborn for the sacrifice. It happens that I was the only one born that day. Thus, with a heavy heart as the Sandaime Hokage explained, he sealed the Kyuubi no Yoko in me and sacrificed himself for the procedure. What you might be asking right now is why the real truth wasn't revealed to the population, right? The Sandaime Hokage thought best at the time to create a half-truth to be taught at the academy and forbid anyone from telling our generation of what really happened. I'm the only one who was able to tell the truth…" Naruto couldn't finish the explanation before Sakura slapped him in indignation. _

_The blond took the blow without even lifting his arm to stop it. He just looked at her, then. He was about to turn his back away from her, figuring that like others, she would hate him when she screamed at him once more. _

"_Why didn't you tell me, you idiot? We're supposed to be teammates…I don't care if you're a god damn jinchuuriki, what I care about is you, baka." Despite the verbal slapping, Naruto smiled at her typical response. _

"_It's not exactly something you speak so easily about, is it? What did you propose I did? Invited you for some ramen and on the way, say…hey Sakura…guess what, the Kyuubi isn't dead and it's living inside me right now" her face showed more indignation, but at least the tone wasn't so serious anymore. _

_After Naruto explained, Sakura bombarded him with questions, which he answered without holding back information. It was needed for the sake of the mission. _

* * *

_**Flashback off**_

Kakashi cleared his throat and decided to use some of the big guns in order to convince the man.

"Raikage-sama, I trust that the letter sent by the Kazekage didn't tell you some of their names, am I right?" Kakashi didn't have to wait for the man's response, before he started with the small but very powerful list of the names. "The first member Konoha knew belonged to the organization was none other than Uchiha Itachi, who single handedly killed his entire clan in one night. Next on the list, is Hoshigaki Kisame, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, responsible for murdering a great number of high nobles from Water Country" The first two names already manage to drop the Raikage's smirk as he listened to Kakashi. "Recently, Suna was attacked by two new members. One is called Deidara of the Hidden rock and Akasuna no Sasori. All four of them are S-ranked missing ninjas. These were the names that we already know of and there are five more members whose identities remain a mystery thus far. However, it's safe to say that are at least as powerful as the first ones, if not more. With all due respect, Raikage-sama, even if you didn't show us any, the power of this organization is enough to concern any leader, who cares about his shinobi. I trust that one of the Jinchuurikis is your brother correct? Now what would you do if he was captured by them?"

The sudden silence that reached the room was quite deafening, but Kakashi wasn't yet finished. His mission didn't only involve warning the Raikage, but making him accept Konoha's information on Akatsuki.

The information regarding Sasori's death was inside the scroll, so the scarecrow jounin didn't feel the need to tell the Raikage.

"Now, Raikage-sama, I have here very detailed information regarding the members' known abilities and history as well. Information that if taken into consideration, could save your brother and the Two-tailed Jinchuuriki Nii Yugito" The Raikage looked at the scroll in Kakashi's hand and almost unconsciously reached for it. The man's pride was a big as his muscles and his confidence in Kumo's shinobi had no precedents. However, after hearing those names, the man doubted if he could beat one of them, let alone two. Suddenly, his eyes recovered the usual fiery explosion, before he looked at Kakashi.

"You brought some new information I wasn't aware of, Kakashi. However, in order for me to accept your scroll, there is a condition" Kakashi maintained his composure, but inside he was cursing the man in front of him.

He knew what the condition would be, as he knew the Raikage's character.

"If your jinchuuriki wins a battle against my brother, then I'll accept the scroll." Kakashi didn't know how to respond, but when he looked at Naruto's face and saw a pleasant smirk, he sighed in dismay. '_I'm sure this boy will be the death of me sooner than I expected'_

"Condition accepted Raikage-sama"

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok, I'm not that evil…

So I'll let my readers choose. Either start working on the next chapter of Regret or choose the next chapter of my Full Moon story.

What will it be?


	15. Battle of Titans

**Author Note**

Just as I expected, everyone voted in favor of another chapter of Regret.

Speaking the truth, I was thinking of doing the fight last chapter, but it would be too long and tiring to read. Most of the readers, though, assured me that Killer Bee, with his experience and full control over his demon, could easily wipe the floor with our chunnin hero. And while I'm not saying what I have planned for this fight, I find that said way of thinking doesn't reflect the series at all. Excluding some obvious cases like Orochimaru or the Kages, experience alone can't be counted as an advantage. Itachi Uchiha could easily kick Orochimaru's ass with just his Sharingan and he was more or less forty years younger than the Sannin. Also, full control of his bijuu can only take you so far. If not, then Akatsuki won't be able to capture almost all of the jinchuurikis. Once more, I'm not saying that Killer Bee will lose to Naruto.

I'm not saying that he will win, as well.

Check it out

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Battle of Titans**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

As soon as Kakashi accepted the duel, the Raikage smiled and called one of his Anbus to come forward. It was the same shinobi that escorted Kakashi's team towards the Raikage's office as he appeared from a small lightning current and kneeled in front of his master.

"What can I do for you Raikage-sama?"

"Go call my brother and tell him to meet me in two hours at the **Hateshinai no Tanima** (Endless Valley). That place will be perfect for a battle between Jinchuurikis. Please tell him everything that was discussed here." The Anbu, if possible, kneeled some more, before he vanished just as the Raikage started addressing the team from Konoha. "This place I picked for the battle is quite fitting, because of the lack of possible accidents happening because of the fight. If you boy are anything like my brother, then chances are that if the battle were to happen close to the village, I'd have to spend quite a lot of money and resources, rebuilding this village. This place I've chosen is a clean field filled with small mountains, perfect for a battle of the magnitude I'm expecting." Kakashi nodded as he somehow knew that they were supposed to be following the Raikage himself towards the location, hence why he didn't ask anything.

The huge man got up from his desk and walked towards the door, being followed by two new Anbus that appeared out of nowhere. Team Kakashi followed suit as Naruto and Kakashi started a discussion with one another. Kakashi knew next to nothing about the Raikage's brother, hence why he couldn't aid Naruto in terms of any prior information. He knew, though, that the man was a seasoned jounin of Kumogakure and quite possibly, has as much experience as Kakashi himself in terms of shinobi skills. He debated with himself, if letting Naruto fight the eight-tailed jinchuuriki was such a good idea. He wondered if perhaps he would be a more suitable fighter to represent Konoha, more specifically, the village's strength which would convince the Raikage into accepting the info on Akatsuki. Another thing that worked against him at the moment was his lack of information regarding Naruto's current skills, something he loathed now more than ever. The blond turned out to be as mysterious as his own sensei and Kakashi never thought he would feel this way. From what he so far knew, Naruto had mastery over water and wind ninjutsu, as well as quite a proficiency in bojutsu. He could use up to two tails worth of the Kyuubi's chakra without losing his focus, but outside of that, nothing more.

And he somehow knew that Naruto barely scratched the surface of what he could do. At least, that's what he presumed seeing as Naruto was trained by a sannin.

"What are you thinking, Naruto?" Another thing that he loathed right now was being unable to read Naruto's mind like he used to in the past.

"I'm trying to predict the eight tailed jinchuuriki's skills. I bet he probably has mastery over raiton ninjutsu, being a Kumo shinobi. If that's true, then my fuuton will have the advantage. I know that he is your age Kakashi-sensei, so he must be twice as experienced as me. Not to mention that like me, chakra won't be an issue for him, meaning that this fight could take quite a while to finish. Anything more than this would be speculating and that is not advisable, seeing who I'm up against. Who's to say I'm not going to fight against the demon, in control of his body? Also, if he, perhaps, had more control over his demon than I do. We'll have to see the man first, before making anymore conclusions." Kakashi listened to the blond the entire time without even correcting his analysis. His only visible eye looked aloof to the situation, but on the inside, he took everything the blond said and thought it to be correct. When it came to Jinchuurikis, he guessed that Naruto had more experience, seeing as he fought against Gaara four years ago.

Suddenly, he felt more confident in his student's chances of winning. The rest of the team remained silent, though, as they followed the Raikage throughout the crowded streets of Kumogakure. Quite soon, they would have to travel throughout the mountains as the fight would occur far from the village. Sakura looked at her teammate with worried eyes as she pondered on what she knew about the ninja from Kumogakure. The village itself wasn't discussed with the Lady Hokage. In fact, she remembered hearing the village's name only two times, with the first being Kumo's early attempt in gathering the Byakugan by kidnapping Hinata a long time ago. The other happened when a missing-nin from Kumo was caught trespassing within Konoha's walls once. Besides these two times, she didn't know much about the hidden village. Suddenly, she felt useless for not being able to help her teammate. She settled, then, in hearing the conversation between Naruto and Kakashi.

"Naruto, even if this battle represents a showoff of Konoha's skills, don't forget that your goal is to beat your opponent. Therefore, don't show your techniques ahead of time and try to gauge his skills before devising a plan of battle. I trust that Jiraiya taught you well, in studying your opponent." Kakashi reasoned that the blond was as ready as he would ever be against Kumo's eight tailed jinchuuriki. He only hoped that Naruto knew some bits of information before acting rashly. This was the last habit that Kakashi believed was still present in Naruto's character. It somewhat unnerved him when Naruto smirked at him, instead of acting insulted like he did before.

"You worry too much Kakashi-sensei. We have yet to arrive at the location and see my opponent. We can gather a lot of information even before the fight begins. Ero-sensei did teach me a lot about studying the adversary." The silver haired jounin nodded when the Raikage stopped in front of them.

"From this point forward, we'll travel throughout the mountains. The valley is ten miles from our position"

The entire trip took no more than half an hour, before the team entered the place known as Infinite Valley, according to the Raikage. Its name sure gave the location credit. It was a plain field surrounded by mountains and because of the horizon no one could see the end of the valley. Indeed, it would be a perfect battle field for two shinobi to waste their never ending chakra capacity. Clearly, the Raikage didn't wish to see any of the Jinchuurikis worried about destroying anything. As they ran throughout the clearing, a large rock started to appear in the middle of the field. As the group reached the rock, they could spot what appeared to be two human beings standing on top of it.

One was the Anbu that left the Raikage's office.

The other one, who everyone assumed to be the eight-tailed jinchuuriki, was a rather interesting sight. Both his skin and hair color were similar with the Raikage's, proving their relationship as brothers. The man known as Kirabi wore dark cargo pants and, a white Kumo jounin vest and white boots. What caught Naruto's eye the most was the seven scabbards beginning on his back and ending on Kirabi's waist. Naruto knew it was common for ninjas to fight with two swords at a time, but he never knew people could get use seven swords at the same time. He knew that, should the need arise he'd need to find a way to get rid of the swords. It's not like he can position all eight swords without wasting some time and Naruto would have to capitalize on that.

When they all landed on top of the rock, Kirabi looked at Naruto and immediately began some kind of dance, flipping his arms in an awkward manner, while greeting Naruto again in an awkward manner:

"Hey-ho, Nine-o"

Afterward, he showed his fist to Naruto, who for his part looked at the man like he was crazy. He actually didn't know the man's mannerisms, but at least he did what Kirabi wanted and greeted him with his fist as well. Kirabi seemed to like this if the broad smile on his face was any indication. Naruto could feel the comforting aura that exuded from this man and he couldn't help but smile at him in return. It was a rather uncommon sight between past enemies – Kumo and Konoha – to simply bump fists as if they were best friends with each other. Since both were jinchuurikis, everyone guessed that a bond was formed between them where words mattered very little. It was the same when Naruto met Gaara and they bonded.

"Kirabi…" The Raikage said, interrupting the bonding moment between perhaps the strongest Jinchuurikis in existence (according to the tails, at least). "As I trust my Anbu explained to you, Konohagakure came forward with information on some new organization named Akatsuki that is after the tailed beasts. I proposed a duel between you and this kid, so I can see with my eyes, Konoha's strength. I trust that you will carry Kumo's strength and show this brat how a true jinchuuriki fights" The jab was of course meant to affect Naruto, destabilizing him prior to the fight. But the blond just smirked and, once more, extended his fist to Kirabi.

"Let's have a good match Kirabi-san…let the best jinchuuriki win" Kirabi once more smiled at the blond and met his fist with a smile on his face. Kakashi was silent the entire time, but he was smiling at his student behind the mask. He could see both tailed beasts staring at one another from behind their respective hosts. He knew next to nothing about the Hachibi, but he guessed that it must have the same ability as the Kyuubi, at least where the host was concerned, vast amounts of chakra. He also spotted the swords and was amazed that he could control eight at the same time. It would be quite a show, he thought.

Both Jinchuurikis jumped from the rock towards the plain field below as they stared at one another for some time. Suddenly and much to the Raikage's dismay, his brother started dancing around, while rapping.

"I've got spare power and my appeal is glowing…Eight-tails the bridge…Kirabi, that's me! Yeah!" It was the last word that came from his mouth, before he vanished towards Naruto with speeds that far surpassed the chunnin's. As soon as he was within reach of the blond to strike, though, something slowed him down, allowing Naruto to see the movements and block the strike accordingly. The blond followed with a sequence of his own punches, but Kirabi blocked them without much trouble. Kirabi blocked both of Naruto's punches, before holding one of his wrists and using the other arm to punch Naruto in the face. At the last moment, though, the blond used a quick kawarimi with a stone nearby and appeared behind Kirabi, attempting to aim a straight kick on his opponent's head. Kirabi barely managed to block the kick, a bit disoriented because of the smoke generated by the replacement technique. Naruto, though, managed to hold the man in place as he made a single kage bunshin that appeared behind Kirabi and managed to land a strong chakra induced punch at his stomach.

Kirabi's feet were dragged a considerable distance, allowing space for Naruto to make an attack of his own. Quickly unleashing four shurikens from his vest, he threw them at Kirabi, before making a brief sequence of hand seals.

_**Fuuton Reppushou**__ (Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm Technique)_

The shurikens doubled in speed, forcing Kirabi to use chakra through his legs to dodge them. Because of the close proximity, he managed to dodge three with the four causing a considerable slash on his right arm. Showing that he wasn't fazed by the wound, Kirabi charged once more, this time, grabbing a kunai and charging it with lightning chakra, much to Kakashi's surprise seeing as the level of lightning manipulation needed for such an attack would be tremendous. He doubted if he could accomplish something like this. Just when Kirabi was with striking distance once more, the same propelling force slowed him down, allowing Naruto to dodge his movements, long enough to manipulate the air around himself and form a small wind barrier. Eventually, he pumped a little more chakra into the air, further increasing the velocity of nature. By this time, Kirabi was captured by the wind and couldn't do anything as Naruto finished a new sequence of hand seals.

_**Fuuton Suraisu no Tatsumaki**__ (Wind Release: Slicing Tornado Technique)_

It was an assassination technique and one of the deadliest in his arsenal, but he knew soon enough that the man wouldn't be fazed by such an open act of hostility. The logs sliced in front of him showed him that Kirabi was just messing with him. Sure enough, his opponent appeared a few meters behind his earlier position with a smile on his face, while crossing his arms. The smile on his face showed that he was having fun. Inside, he at least knew that Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's main skill was with wind techniques. Kirabi admitted that he didn't have much experience against wind users as he happened to be a lightning user. Ninjutsu wouldn't be his choice of action, then. The wound caused by the Reppushou technique was already healed by the Hachibi as Kirabi pondered on what to do against the jinchuuriki. He was still bothered by this invisible force that seemed to slow him down for enough time which allowed Naruto to follow his movements.

* * *

**===Back at the audience===**

The Raikage saw every move taken and frankly wasn't very impressed with the blond's abilities so far. He snorted and turned to Kakashi, who, as always, looked like he didn't give a rat's ass about anything.

"I'd say so far, your jinchuuriki doesn't show much promise Sharingan no Kakashi. I expected much from someone who was trained by both you and the Sannin Jiraiya" If Kakashi was surprised that the Raikage knew that, he didn't show it, but he had faith that Naruto still had a lot more to show. He knew what Naruto was doing as he remembered the time when his team travelled to Sunagakure prior to them rescuing Gaara. He also knew that Naruto's opponent was perplexed as to the actual cause. The thing about wind is that is unpredictable and Kakashi couldn't find a more suitable shinobi to grasp the true behavior of said force of nature.

"The fight has barely begun Raikage-sama and Kirabi already had to resort to a quick kawarimi to escape Naruto's jutsu. From my perspective, I'd say that your brother doesn't show much promise as well." Few had the audacity of turning the game on a Kage and the man just settled to observe the fight without throwing more comments.

* * *

**===Naruto x Kirabi=== **

Kirabi suddenly started dancing one more time, while rapping.

"Hey-ho, Nine-o, you got some nice moves…now let me show what I…Eight-o can do…" He screamed in victory once more before charging once more at Naruto. Picking a great deal of shurikens, he charged them with lightning chakra and threw them all together at the blond while at the same time charging with the intent to land a powerful hit on Naruto. Unfortunately for Naruto, he couldn't dodge the incoming projectiles, while at the same time follow his opponent's moves. He managed to dodge the shurikens and was about to lift his arm to block Kirabi's incoming punch. The man smiled as he punched Naruto's arm, thus taking it off the way, while flipping his entire body and landing a fierce flying kick that hit Naruto straight on his chest. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was sent flying, while Kirabi followed to the blond's destination. Once Naruto was reached, Kirabi tried continuing the blow with a knee uppercut, but once more, the strange force slowed his movements, allowing the blond to stop his knee and get away from the attack range.

He took his bo-staff in less than a second and managed to land a powerful hit on Kirabi's side stomach, followed by a two-hit sequence that finished with him using the tip of the staff and connected with Kirabi's upper chest, taking some air out of him as he was sent flying as well.

Immediately, searching for an advantage, Naruto quickly reached for a scroll inside his vest. After opening, he threw it on the ground and stepped right on the kanji sign. Suddenly, water started pouring from within the seal, as Naruto threw his bo-staff to the air, while performing some hand seals.

_**Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu**__ (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)_

The water below him transformed into a gigantic creature of water as it charged hungrily at Kirabi. The attack surprised the Eight-tailed Jinchuuriki, seeing as this region didn't have a nearby water source for a jutsu of this caliber. Nevertheless, he supposed it was enough playing around. The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki proved that he couldn't be underestimated. If the little dude was this skilled without his bijuu, Kirabi wondered what he could do once by the Kyuubi chakra's influence. Focusing a bit of the Hachibi's chakra, Kirabi crossed his arms while the creature of water approached his position. Suddenly, what appeared to be two tentacles coming from his back. The extra pair of limbs destroyed the Water Dragon Technique, much to Naruto's new found interest. The tentacles must be a part of the Hachibi and Kirabi managed to use it. He wondered if he could materialize Kyuubi's tails as well. Kirabi just walked towards Naruto.

"I think we're done warming up hey Nine-o, I will play with you baby" Kirabi used his right hand and threw two swords up in the air, followed by the rest, in order to position them according to this style. Naruto was waiting for this and quickly managed a quick sequence of hand seals, once more using the Reppushou technique. He managed to divert his technique to the falling swords. And just like he expected, with his technique, it ended up propelling his opponent's swords far away from the battlefield, leaving a shocked Kirabi with only two of the seven initial swords. Naruto smirked at his plan and grabbed his bo-staff once more.

"Sorry about that Kirabi-san, I just don't have the skill to fight against seven swords at the same time. I hope you don't mind fighting with two, instead?

A great distance away, the Raikage was suddenly pissed at his brother's stupid actions. He always…always told him to learn a new way of positioning his swords without throwing all of them up in the air like that. Strangely, so far, only the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki sought to take advantage of the situation, but still. Back to the fight in hand, Kirabi smirked and positioned himself in a battle stance holding his two swords. Naruto could see that the swords were glowing with blue energy, just like the kunai was. He did the same with his bo-staff, focusing wind chakra through it, hardening the metal in order to face Kirabi's twin sword style. He knew that if the man knew how to use seven swords, he wouldn't have much trouble using two. At least, Naruto's eyes could follow two swords better than seven. Before he could ponder much longer, Kirabi vanished from his position, surprising the blond as he positioned his bo-staff in order to protect his entire body. Just when the Hachibi Jinchuuriki was inches from attacking, though, he stopped and looked at the blond with strange interest. Naruto wondered what just happened, before the man smiled.

"You using wind chakra to restrain my movements, aren't ya...?" Kirabi asked, before Naruto's eyes widened upon being caught. It didn't last long, though, as he smiled and nodded.

"I was hoping to fool you a bit longer; guess you couldn't be fooled like the others" Their position wasn't so far from the rock, which allowed everyone to hear Kirabi's discovery. The Raikage widened his eyes, finding respect for the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki for his ability with wind chakra. Expelling wind chakra throughout his body like that, Naruto managed to slow down the enemy's movement so that it would appear that the fight was even, if his opponent was faster than him. But if the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki knew how to do this, then he could easily use this skill to increase his own speed. It must be another secret ability he plans to use against the Raikage's brother. Turning to Kakashi, he now knew why the man placed so much confidence in a teenager. Naruto may not possess experience, but he had skills to back him up.

Back to the fight, the two jinchuurikis were smiling at each other.

"Quite the skill you have there, Nine-o."

"Thank you, however just because you figured out what I did, it doesn't mean you found out everything there is to know about me. Wind chakra is considered the most powerful and most unpredictable of all elements for a reason." Naruto said, before he attacked Kirabi using his bo-staff. He loaded the staff with wind chakra and aimed it towards Kirabi's shoulder, in order to break some bones. The man, though, managed to block the attack. He was surprised, once more, when Naruto started moving faster all of a sudden. His movements forced Kirabi to increase the rhythm as now the battle was transformed into a close-ranged one. Their speeds were faster than Kakashi could see, hence why he used his Sharingan eye to follow. Sakura was lost since the beginning of the fight and Yamato was having trouble like Kakashi did without his Sharingan. The Raikage, being used to similar speeds, could follow the match. He smirked, knowing that his assumptions about Naruto were correct. Not only can the boy use wind chakra to restrain the opponent's movements, but also to increase his speed by lowering the air resistance around him. The boy was trained well, the Raikage reasoned.

The two jinchuuriki were at each other, with both precise and fast moves. No one could tell who was winning, because for every hit Naruto landed with his bo-staff, Kirabi managed to scratch Naruto's skin as well. It soon became apparent that if nothing changed, then either Kirabi's bones would crack under the pressure of Naruto's powerful wind blows or Naruto would lose more blood than what was safe. Seeing as both managed to speak freely with their bijuus allowed them to realize the consequences of keeping this up. Both backed away and Naruto used the momentary distance to make a long series of hand seals for a very powerful technique of his.

_**Fuuton Atsugai**__ (Wind Technique: Pressure Damage Technique)_

Suddenly, around his body, a dome of wind was created as it expanded towards Kirabi and the others, obliterating everything in its radius. The technique even reached the rock, forcing the people on top of it to scatter as to not get caught. When the technique was over, Naruto saw that Kirabi was nowhere to be seen. His eyed wandered through every possible direction as he positioned his bo-staff in a defensive position in case Kirabi appeared with a surprise attack. Little did he know, though, that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki took advantage of the wide field and created a very long distance, both in order to escape from Naruto's technique and prepare for a ninjutsu. Said jutsu required a long series of hand seals and a few minutes of concentration, thus Kirabi knew that Naruto would charge once he feels the chakra. The distance would serve to give him time for his – or rather Kumogakure's latest triumph. Actually, besides him only his brother could perform the technique since the chakra capacity required for it is quite large. Kirabi was having a blast so far and he wasn't even sad that he couldn't use his sword style. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki was full of surprises, he reasoned. He began with the series of hand seals, while molding a great amount of chakra.

Suddenly, Naruto and the others felt the sudden spike in chakra. Immediately, the blond charged towards the location where Kirabi was, only to see him holding the dragon seal.

_**Raiton Rairyuudan no Jutsu**__ (Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Projectile Technique)_

His entire body was engulfed in electricity, as the creature appeared on top of his head. Kirabi was increasing the chakra necessary for the technique. Naruto could see that the creature was growing in size until it easily reached ten meters high. The blond didn't even try to see the creature's length as he began doing hand seals. He doubted that said technique would be enough to stop Kirabi's attack, but it was his only choice at the moment. He didn't find anything to replace himself with, nor would it do any good to summon kage bunshin to be used as replacement. The amount of energy gathered by the Hachibi Jinchuuriki would surely cause a lot of damage to this field. The least he could do was to block the attack with one of his techniques and hope for the best. As soon as the beast's creation was finalized, Kirabi smirked at the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and unleashed his creation. It was at this time that the wind around Naruto increased in speed.

_**Fuuton Kaze no Tate**__ (Wind Release: Wind Shield Technique)_

As soon as the lightning monster reached Naruto, an amazing tornado circled around him. The creature collided with the wind barrier and an explosion soon followed, which could be seen from a long distance. The audience was shocked at the bright flash of light that engulfed them, before the land started to disintegrate in front of them. The Raikage and the Anbu was long gone from the pah of destruction and the others would too if Sakura decided to trust her instincts and get the hell away from there. Both Kakashi and Yamato moved quickly to save her. Yamato used a simple earth wall in front of Sakura while Kakashi grabbed her and got all of the way. The wall wasn't enough to stop the path of destruction, but at least allowed them time to save the chunnin. The debris caused by the attack was enough to alter the landscape a bit. Kirabi smirked upon seeing the result of his jutsu, before doing a victory dance, seeing as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was nowhere to be seen. Much to his momentary dismay, but happiness, a pile of rocks was pushed away, revealing a rather bruised Naruto. His clothes were a rag and one side of his vest was missing. The blond, for his part, wondered what would have happened to him if he hadn't lifted the wind barrier.

"I applaud you for escaping alive from da bomb Nine-o, but from here on out, it's time for the Eight-o" Naruto saw the man using the demon's chakra since the red cloak surrounded him. He could see eight tails behind him and was marveled at the man for his control over the beast. Suddenly, without warning, the Hachibi Jinchuuriki vanished from sight and landed a powerful strike at Naruto's chest, which opened a big hole on his chest. His screaming echoed throughout the valley, which worried Kakashi, Sakura and Yamato. The Raikage, though, smirked upon seeing the Rariatto technique that he invented being used by his brother.

* * *

**===With Jiraiya===**

The little toad stopped jumping as soon as he saw Orochimaru and Kabuto entering the cave. It suddenly opened his mouth, allowing the perverted sannin to emerge. He appreciated the toad's help and looked at the seemingly empty cave in front of him. It was strange and totally against Orochimaru's profile. Normally, every base had its guards blocking the entrance, but now he couldn't see anything. It could easily be a trap, he reasoned. One would enter the cave, only to be slaughtered by hidden traps or even hidden shinobi. In any case, Jiraiya wouldn't need to worry. However, his mission didn't involve being caught. Doing a couple hand seals, he slammed his right hand on the ground, until a considerably sized hole was created, allowing him to enter the base from below the ground. It didn't take five minutes before he found an entrance he could use. Once inside the base, he walked towards the wall of the empty room and looked around a bit.

As usual, the place looked like a maze, as Orochimaru always made his base to be. Jiraiya loathed him, but he had to admit that the snake sannin knew what he was doing. The pervert wouldn't put it past him that he would be able to accomplish his objective without resistance.

Trusting that his path was clear, he laid a hand on the ground, in order to sense Sasuke's chakra. He needed to avoid both Kabuto and Orochimaru for the time being and focus on finding Sasuke's location.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Just after, probably, the toughest pain Naruto endured, his consciousness was immediately transferred inside the Seal as he started at the almighty figure known as Kyuubi no Yoko. He could see true displeasure looking at him from behind the cage as he knew the creature's pride was larger than its own size. The blow to its pride was probably due to his host apparently losing a battle against the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. Despite knowing it was risky, the fight was going according to the blond's plan and he now had the upper hand.

"**I know you have a plan, brat. But if you receive any more of a beating from the Hachibi, then I'll get out of this cage and beat the shit out of you." **The fox admitted that the plan was sound and he knew that if Naruto managed to complete it, then the Hachibi would be defeated, but this alone didn't satisfy the fox. The boy just smirked at his inmate and nodded.

"Ok fur ball, for now give me one tail worth of chakra. This alone will protect me from the attacks. Also with my skills in wind chakra, my speed will double."

"**Ok brat, you have it."**

Kirabi stopped dancing immediately once he sensed the usage of demonic chakra in front of him. He noticed the wound on Naruto's chest healing at an impressive rate and smirked. It was time for the real battle between jinchuurikis, he reasoned. Kirabi used his superior speed and vanished, appearing behind Naruto. The blond, for his part, used his ability with wind chakra, much stronger now with the fox's chakra and managed to slow Kirabi's movements. Naruto used his bo-staff and smashed it on Kirabi's chest. He followed with a sequence of blows, not allowing any movement in retaliation from his opponent. Getting annoyed, Kirabi focused on bursting his chakra, which managed to send Naruto flying. The blond just used his momentum and flipped his body, before using chakra on his limbs to charge and diminishing the air resistance in front of him. His speed quadrupled and Kirabi was having trouble following. The audience was lost as well with Kakashi being the only one, because of the Sharingan. Even then, he wondered how faster he would be once he used a third tail. As soon as he reached Kirabi's position, he tried landing a powerful bo-staff strike only for Kirabi to block it and land four tails right on Naruto's face. The blond smirked seeing as his chakra cloak managed to protect him.

He did the same maneuver once more, this time appearing behind the Hachibi Jinchuuriki, this time with a small piece of paper in his right hand to which Kirabi didn't notice. The movement was so fast but Kakashi managed to see Naruto's plan and smirked behind his mask. This fight was as good as his now. Kirabi turned and saw the blond aiming his bo-staff at his shoulder and blocked it. Out of the blue, though, he felt something weird. His chakra cloak simply vanished and he couldn't hear the Hachibi inside of him. He looked at the smirking jinchuuriki in front of him and asked what the hell happened. He could see two more tails growing behind Naruto and his whisker marks getting more defined. He maintained the smirk, as his canines started growing to that of a beast. His hair was even more spiked as he fell on the floor like a canine. Once the transformation was over, Naruto decided to explain. His voice came out different and everyone could feel the malevolent chakra leaking from the blond.

"**Training under a seal-master has its perks. For instance, sensei devised a seal that cuts the link between jinchuuriki and tailed beast. He created it in order for others to use it on me in case I ever lost control to the Kyuubi. Now that you don't have the Hachibi to protect you, it's my turn to strike…"** As soon as Naruto spoke, he vanished and started beating the defenseless Kirabi ruthlessly. The Raikage didn't know with whom he was angrier; his brother for falling victim to such a cheap trick or the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki who right now was treating his brother like a punching bag. He was about to end the fight when Kakashi explained what Naruto was doing to Kirabi.

"You needn't worry about your brother Raikage-sama. I can see that Naruto isn't loading his punches with the demon chakra. However, you'd do well to conclude that his fight is long over and Naruto is the victor." The Raikage disguised his preoccupation for his brother with an angry snort. He was about to concede, when he felt a very familiar chakra, all of a sudden. He recognized this supreme chakra capacity anywhere. This, perhaps, is the first time he thanked the demon for his assistance.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is quite capable Kakashi. However, he still has to win this fight against another foe" No sooner the words left his mouth then all of them saw Kirabi being transformed into the demon itself. Naruto stopped immediately as he was now face to face with the Eight-tailed demon.

His height was easily the same size as Shukaku, but his appearance was rather unique. It had the body of an octopus and the head of an ox. Lowering down, he stared at the altered Naruto with its stoic white eyes.

"**You fought bravely Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but I'm afraid that I can't let you kill my host." **The beast's resolve in protecting the jinchuuriki surprised Naruto and he wondered if the fox would do the same thing for him. Even the Kyuubi itself was surprised at the Hachibi for his actions. It even reminded Kyuubi of the time when Mito Uzumaki was its jinchuuriki. Standing up, the blond smirked at the giant demon and stopped using the fox's chakra. Jiraiya would like to know that the demon could overcome the seal.

"No need to worry Hachibi, I don't plan to harm him, hence why the blows I delivered weren't laced with the fox's chakra. My plan was merely to show Kumogakure that if I could cause this damage to him, then surely Akatsuki can as well. Truly, I envy Kirabi-san to have such a powerful and devoted partner at his side."

Naruto vanished within a shunshin and appeared in front of the Raikage, who was shocked beyond words.

"I yield Raikage-sama, there is no way I can beat a tailed beast on my own." His response shocked Sakura and Yamato, but earned a smile of pride from Kakashi. Because of the fox's chakra, his wounds were healed but his clothes were a mess. Despite it all, Naruto showed the ability of a great shinobi. He managed to plan ahead and even admitted that he wasn't strong enough to defeat the enemy. By this time, the Hachibi vanished once more as he had to heal its host. Back to everyone, the Raikage was fixing his eyes at Naruto, trying to measure his character for a while. Such resolve, such confidence was only visible in one man and he could see his image behind Naruto as if he was alive once more. The Raikage wasn't certain that the jinchuuriki was related to this man, but he could see a great list of resemblances in both appearance and character. First, this fight was in order to see if he would accept Konoha's information about Akatsuki. He needed to see, then, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's power, before considering whether to accept it or not. With this fight, the Raikage could see that the boy showed such promise.

And to think he had yet to fully control the Kyuubi.

"Kakashi, I'll accept the information. However, I'd like to write a letter in reply to the Hokage. Your team is welcomed to stay in the village as I prepare the reply. I…" The Raikage was interrupted once an Anbu came out of nowhere.

"Raikage-sama, we spotted two missing-nin attacking Nii Yugito at the sewers. Their identities are unknown, but they are wearing black cloaks with red clouds." Kakashi responded right away that Akatsuki was attacking the Two-tailed Jinchuuriki. The Raikage nodded and ordered two squads of Anbu to follow him. Kakashi and Yamato followed him, while Sakura stayed with Naruto to heal him. As soon as the group vanished, the Hachibi Jinchuuriki appeared behind him holding his head in a weak attempt to heal a nasty headache. Naruto smiled at the man, who in turn smiled back. They exchanged fists once more as Sakura settled to heal some of Naruto's less dangerous wounds.

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, here's the end of the chapter. How do you like it? Good, bad? The best thing about the shinobi world is underestimation. A lot of ninjas get killed because they fought that their opponents didn't possess the same level of skill. However, a lot of events can happen and shinobi must take a genin as seriously as he would take a jounin. You'll never know what the genin have under his sleeve. Kirabi underestimated Naruto and paid the price for it. He had to rely on his demon to win the fight. Some of you'll agree with me that, even though the Hachibi had to intervene, in the end Naruto lost the fight. I was very pleased that I was able to put everything I planned on paper.

In my humble opinion, the fight was great. Lots of action and Naruto, this time, got to show more of his jutsus and forced Kirabi on the defensive.

Now, the story is shortly falling into shape, following, more or less, what happened in cannon, with a twist, though. The Raikage was impressed with Naruto's skill and he will see the threat of Akatsuki by himself. What will be his conclusions based on the recent events? Also, Jiraiya is about to find Uchiha Sasuke as he has a mission to complete. What does the mission entails? Jiraiya is a sannin, but in order to get to Sasuke, he'll need to avoid Orochimaru and Kabuto's senses, as well as Sasuke himself. Will he succeed? Or he'll be caught and face all three of them at the same time. There are lots of questions left unanswered, right?

Check it out next chapter.

Oh and don't forget to review! Please! I beg of you!


	16. Joint Venture

**Author Note**

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

I have received a lot of great reviews about the fight between the Kyuubi and the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. I was afraid that people would believe that Naruto wouldn't be able to face against a jinchuuriki such as Kirabi, but seeing as he lost in the end, even if he yielded, it was a nice fight. Naruto managed to use plenty of the jutsus he learned during his trip and, with it, he managed to impress the Yondaime Raikage. Now, one would imagine what changes will occur afterwards to the actual plotline.

Well, check it out.

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Joint Venture**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Jiraiya knew that in order to keep spies from finding Orochimaru's secrets, the man built his hideout like a maze. This way, the intruder would take forever to find what he was looking for and when he did, certainly the snake sannin himself would be there to greet him or her. The perverted sannin could see detection seals located throughout his path, which were meant to detect those who were unaware of such a weak level of security. To a master of seals such as himself, bypassing this was a piece of cake. What infuriated Jiraiya was his inability of sensing Sasuke Uchiha's chakra. He knew that the traitor was here. But he couldn't pinpoint his exact location. All his sensory techniques brought him to the location he was now. The problem was that, while he managed to exclude almost the entire base, he still had ten doors to search Sasuke. If he ever opened a wrong one, the noise created by it could alert his ex-comrade ahead of time.

He needed to find Sasuke before Orochimaru found him.

Closing his eyes, Jiraiya started focusing on his other senses, in order to determine Sasuke's position. He focused on chakra sensory abilities, even sounds created by the Uchiha would do. Suddenly, he perceived a small sound coming from the farthest doors. As he walked, he slowly understood what the sound was. The methodical sound of breathing one emits upon sleep was heard and Jiraiya knew that only one noise could be heard. As soon as he stopped in front of the fourth floor on the right side, he opened it slightly to look inside. He smiled upon recognizing the traitor, sleeping peacefully on his bed. Perhaps, he was dreaming about killing his older brother. The perverted sannin approached the bed, now without any care for his well-being, seeing as his mission was about to be completed. When he touched Sasuke's arm, though, the man was alerted by the sudden opening of Sasuke's eyes in response to a surprise attack.

An explosion soon followed as Sasuke used a strong fireball technique and threw it at Jiraiya. The perverted evaded with ease and the attack opened a gigantic hole in the earth. The sannin simply got up from the ground and cleaned his clothes, as he looked to the sun's direction. And there he stood, Uchiha Sasuke. The boy hadn't changed much, Jiraiya reasoned. He now wore an Otogakure's special outfit consisting of white shirt, black pants and a large rope belt. Jiraiya could see a sword behind Sasuke, which Jiraiya presumed to be another Kusanagi. Orochimaru wouldn't consider giving his precious Uchiha anything less.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked with an arrogant tone.

Jiraiya, though, only snorted at this kid's vague attempt at demanding anything of him.

"Three years with the snake and already believing you can demand an explanation. You're forty years too young to even demand anything out of me brat. But if you must know, I'm here to capture you, Uchiha Sasuke. By associating with Konoha's vilest criminals, you are to be considered one as well."

"I'm not coming back until I achieve my vengeance…" Once more, Jiraiya snorted at the kid.

"Whoever said that you had any say in this, kid? No matter how strong or capable you've became these last three years, even your brother is reluctant to engage with me in combat. What makes you think you're any better?" Jiraiya knew that Itachi was a touchy subject to him, so he decided to explore.

Jiraiya even revealed a smirk that showed how little threat Sasuke represented at the moment, which infuriated the stoic Uchiha. Not wasting time, Sasuke vanished from his position and appeared behind Jiraiya, as if he was showing the sannin his impressive speed. Jiraiya, though, continued to smile and turned to meet the Uchiha. He could see that his fully evolved Sharingan was active, but that meant little to a sannin. The kid wanted to show his speed. So, Jiraiya decided to indulge the Uchiha a bit. It should be quite amusing to watch Sasuke's foolish attempt at facing a sannin. Sasuke attempted to attack Jiraiya, in the hopes of evading his capture. However, Sasuke was surprised when Jiraiya's hand was already positioned to grab his arm. His Sharingan told him to change the maneuver, so Sasuke flipped his body and aimed a fierce kick on Jiraiya's stomach. Once more, the pervert Sannin's arm was already positioned in front of Sasuke's foot. This time, instead of just showing, Jiraiya aimed a Rasengan at Sasuke's stomach, which sent him flying towards the nearby wall.

Sasuke managed to replace himself at the last moment with a rock, but he suffered a great deal of damage, because of Jiraiya's Rasengan.

The Uchiha didn't have time to perform his Chidori based techniques and he was now holding his injured stomach. All because he thought he could take on a sannin. He was about to summon his cursed chakra level one when Sasuke sensed his sensei approaching.

"Quite pitiful oh pride of the Uchiha Clan. Certainly Itachi wouldn't have a problem dodging this technique. I even recall that my student Naruto could dodge that without much effort." Jiraiya charged now with full intent of dealing with the brat. However, he caught movement from the corner of his eye and dodged the snake attack, courtesy of his former comrade Orochimaru. As he looked to his right, he saw both Orochimaru and Kabuto looking at him with a predatory smile on their faces. It was indeed surprising to them how Jiraiya managed to avoid the detection seals. They shouldn't be, however, seeing as the man's knowledge of seals surpassed Orochimaru's.

"I certainly didn't expect that Tsunade would send you to deal with Sasuke-kun, Jiraiya. It wasn't a smart move, considering that you're now alone against us three." Once more, the pervert smirked.

"You, better than most, know that numbers mean nothing to me. Now, I was hoping to take on Sasuke and leave before you and your little pet arrived. I guess I overestimated my abilities." If Kabuto was affected by Jiraiya's nickname for him, he didn't show it.

Orochimaru just smirked, though, in amusement.

"You are a failure and will always be considered as such. If you thought that you could escape with Sasuke without me knowing about it, you'll even more of a disgrace than I thought."

"Well, I'd hate to cut our meeting short, Orochimaru. But I'm afraid I must report my failure to Tsunade-hime. See ya, oh and Sasuke, despite everything, I can tell that you're weaker than my student. Even with your Sharingan and the cursed seal, you're no match for him. I'll be going now…"

Kabuto tried to intercept him by launching a chakra scalpel attack at the pervert, but to his dismay, the Jiraiya was merely a mud clone, which meant that the real one was far by now. Orochimaru frowned in dismay at Jiraiya's sudden appearance. In this type of situation, the pervert would attempt to take care of the three by himself, in hopes of killing Orochimaru once and for all. Perhaps, Jiraiya's mission wasn't to capture Sasuke, but Orochimaru couldn't figure out what Jiraiya's real intention could be. Throughout the entire confrontation, Jiraiya's reaction didn't alter like usual. He was smiling the entire time and that in itself was troubling. He, then, turned to Sasuke and couldn't see much despite the fact the Uchiha was doubled over in pain right now, because of the Rasengan. He now had to destroy the base and look out for another one, as Jiraiya would reach Konoha soon and send a full battle squad here.

"Kabuto, we'll have to switch bases. Prepare to move in four hours tops. Oh and treat Sasuke-kun's wounds, will ya?"

**===At Kumogakure===**

It'd been two days since the fight between the strongest jinchuurikis out there and right now, the Konoha delegation was inside the Raikage's office, waiting for the man's replay to Konoha's letter. The man supposed it was a blessing that the Hokage sent a team to his village. Perhaps, if he was busy with something else, then he wouldn't be able to stop the Akatsuki from capturing the two-tailed jinchuuriki Nii Yugito. The Raikage didn't perceive the organization as dangerous, before seeing what he saw two days ago.

Upon arriving with a full Anbu squad in the sewers and was shocked to see Yugito covered by her blood, pinned to the wall by a metal rod.

The fact that a jinchuuriki, even one of Yugito's level, lost to high-ranking shinobi didn't even compare to the danger posed by only one member of the organization. Kakuzu, S-ranked missing-nin from Takigakure occupied the top entries of Kumo's bingo book and it had been since the Raikage was born. According to the information provided by Konoha, along with Kakuzu, the organization had also Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Deidara and Sasori as known members. The Raikage knew that any of these names could easily obliterate an entire village. Presuming that there is one shinobi who's commanding these missing-nins, then it's plausible to assume that whoever the leader is, he was stronger than them. The Raikage couldn't think of names, other than the kages themselves that could be stronger.

At least, with Yugito saved, it was considered a victory against such a worthy adversary. Now, the man was one hundred percent sure of his next step. Konohagakure showed him that they were more prepared to face the organization than Kumo was. They had the Intel. Jiraiya of the sannin was perhaps the World's top information gathering expert and the fact that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki faced four members and dealt with two showed him that this Naruto person has what it takes to face them. Add Kirabi to the mix and they could, together, defeat the Akatsuki once and for all. Placing one against the other brought fruits after all. After finishing the letter, the Raikage signed it and gave it to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-san, in the name of my village, I'll accept the Intel on the Akatsuki. I'll ask that you deliver this reply letter to the Hokage. Its contents are privy to her, so I trust that someone of your reputation understands the importance of what I just said." Kakashi, for his chance, just nodded and opened an empty scroll on top of the Raikage's desk. He sealed the Raikage's reply letter inside the scroll and bowed to the lightning shadow (Raikage). In Kakashi's opinion, the Raikage didn't need to bother, since he wasn't that interested in opening it. The Hokage would tell him anyway.

"Do not worry Raikage-sama; the letter is safe with me. We'll be leaving now."

The team from Konoha bowed in respect, before leaving the office. Two seconds later, both Yugito and Kirabi shunshined inside the Raikage's office, as per the man's calling. He needed Kirabi to report the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's abilities, so that they could discuss and probably learn more from him. Being a jinchuuriki, it didn't take long for Yugito to heal most of her wounds and be discharged from the hospital. The woman was curious about this Naruto person, who happened to possess the strongest of the tailed beasts inside of him. "Bro, that Naruto fellow is one piece of work. He managed to plan ahead of me and used that hip fuuinjutsu on me. He is more cunning than the animal who lives inside of him. Besides that, he has some nice fuuton and suiton techniques, not to mention his skills with the bojutsu. Overall, I'd say he was a low-jounin level." Kirabi reported, earning a nod from the Raikage. Yugito, though, was perplexed. Kirabi was forced to use his full transformation to deal with a low-jounin shinobi. She was considered a low-level jounin and she couldn't handle Kirabi.

"Pardon Kirabi-sama, Raikage-sama, but how can this be? Kirabi is high-level jounin to kage level." The Raikage nodded, before clearing his throat a bit.

"As my brother said, the boy is cunning. Without the beast's chakra, I'd say that Kirabi would be able to win the match. If Naruto didn't send five of his swords flying, then Kirabi would be able to deal with Naruto. The boy managed to plan ahead. He waited for Kirabi to transform, before using a strange type of seal that cuts the link between jinchuuriki and demon. After that, he used his own demon's chakra and overcame the weakened Kirabi. Even if the brat yielded in the end, I would have granted the victory to him. Still, it doesn't change the fact that Kirabi is stronger than Naruto." Yugito nodded, while slowly trying to gather as much information as possible regarding the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Kirabi, though, never left the smile off his face. "The nine-o will surpass me in no time, though. He has half my age and it's already causing me trouble. And quite frankly, I would enjoy fighting on his side." The Raikage appeared stoic on the outside, but he could see the fire on Kirabi's eyes. He could only smile, though. Bee would have what he wished for, in the end.

* * *

**===At Konoha===**

It didn't take more than three days for Naruto's team to arrive in Konoha.

The team went afterwards to the Hokage's office, where Kakashi reported everything. After Tsunade heard everything, she looked at Naruto for an instant, before rubbing her forehead. No matter what this boy did or didn't do, it always gave her a nasty headache. However, she relaxed once she heard that nobody was heavily injured. Tsunade was shocked that Akatsuki managed to invade a heavily secured village such as Kumogakure and even managed to win against the Nibi Jinchuuriki. They almost succeeded in leaving Kumo if the Raikage wasn't fast enough. In the end, the mission was a success, which was a surprise. Tsunade was also surprised when Kakashi gave her a letter of reply written by the Raikage himself.

"Great job all of you; I'll be reading the letter. As of right now, Team Kakashi deserves a two-day rest, dismissed." Everyone nodded and left for the day.

Kakashi and Yamato called Naruto aside and urged him to follow. Since they arrived in the morning, they could use time to train and improve Naruto's control over the fox's chakra. The chunnin wanted none of that, however, as he didn't enjoy it much. Also, he couldn't tell them about his pact with the fox. He already could use three tails worth of chakra, but it was useless in his opinion. In his opinion, controlling two tails of chakra was more powerful than using five, without any form of control. He remembered the Hachibi Jinchruuriki and how he managed to use eight tails. Nevertheless, he figured that with Kakashi and Yamato's experience, they might come up with several good exercises to improve his control over the fox's chakra. He just hoped that Yamato's control over the fox was better than Jiraiya's seal.

Once they reached the training ground, Naruto looked around for a bit. They had travelled a great distance away from the population, so that when Naruto used the fox's chakra, none of them could feel anything.

"Naruto, as far as I can see, your level of control over the fox's chakra reached the impressive barrier of two tails. Seeing as we have two days of rest, we'll focus on reaching the third tail. Now, let me explain what Yamato will be doing. While you focus on using the fox's chakra, he'll use his technique in order to suppress the fox's will. Now, why don't you use two tails, so we can begin. Yamato, you are free to begin." Both chunnin and jounin nodded. Yamato took a seat on the ground and started a long series of hand seals, before five wooden pillars rose around him. Naruto, then, closed his eyes one second to focus. When he opened, the red cloak began to envelop him, as was expected. His hair was more spiked and both his teeth and nails were sharpened. His whisker marks were more defined. A minute later, one tail appeared behind him and then the other.

Kakashi could feel the oppressing aura all around him. However, he could see that besides that, Naruto was perfectly calm. It was a true testament to his will.

"Now, Naruto, I want you to use a third tail. Don't worry; Yamato is here to help you subdue the fox." The chunnin nodded, before clenching his fists. This would be his second time with three tails and the first wasn't pretty. His body suddenly had the urge to bend over, like a fox would. An evil aura began to form a whirlpool around his body as the third tail was formed. By this time, a drop of sweat was already formed on Yamato's face. He only knew the theory behind this technique. He had no idea how much chakra he would use to control a few minutes of the fox's chakra. When the third tail appeared behind Naruto, both Kakashi and Yamato could hear the blond's growling. Kakashi could see that Naruto's entire body was trembling. In his right mind, Naruto was trying to control his own urges, influenced by the fox. ,

At this state, Naruto wanted nothing more than to engage against the enemy.

Naruto maintained a leveled breathing. He had to remain calm, so that he could adapt to the three tailed state without fear of becoming a liability in missions. It was hard, though, he reasoned. Every inch of his body demanded blood, with only his brain in the way. He had to keep pure thoughts on his mind, or else he would succumb. Right now, neither Kakashi nor Yamato could stop him, if Yamato's technique failed. It would take one small slip and a fourth tail would appear. He couldn't know what would happen, but he doubted that anyone would be able to stop him.

"Alright Naruto, that's enough. Stop using the fox's chakra." Kakashi's demand was a blessing. One tail at a time, Naruto managed to cut the link. He was on its knees soon after.

Yamato thanked Kakashi as well, but the scarecrow jounin was busy analyzing Naruto's situation. So far, the only element that is able to hold the Kyuubi's chakra was Naruto's own chakra. His chakra would strengthen the seal, which would control the fox's chakra as well. That meant that for the blond to control more of Kyuubi's chakra, he would have to possess more chakra. Kakashi knew only one way of doing that. Exhausting his chakra supply every day, so that when Naruto wakes up, his chakra capacity will increase. It would require more than two days for that, he reasoned. However, given Naruto's skills, it would be unreasonable to take him off active missions for a while. He could perform exhausting exercises on his relaxing days. It was time to kick it up a notch and both Kakashi and Yamato would have to step in. He approached the two and began to explain his theory.

"Okay listen up you two. Instead of forcing Naruto to adapt to the fox's chakra, I believe it is beneficial to increase Naruto's own chakra capacity first. Naruto's seal depends on his chakra to keep the fox at bay. The higher Naruto's chakra is, higher the chances of control over the demon's chakra. That being said, after some rest, you'll exhaust your chakra capacity today. Tomorrow, we'll do the same thing. We'll repeat this procedure until you can control three tails worth of chakra without fear of becoming a liability."

Naruto didn't remember the last time he suffered from fatigue, without using the fox's chakra, other than when he used his clones to use the Rasengan with one hand.

"What do you have in mind, Kakashi-sensei? It's quite difficult to tire me out. Not even Ero-sensei managed to do that."

"Jiraiya-sama is only one man Naruto. This time, both I and Yamato will be attacking you. It will be a jutsu only battle. You may only defend using ninjutsu." Upon hearing it, even Yamato was shocked. Naruto's chakra capacity was easily four times larger than Kakashi's and Yamato's. Yamato doubted that they would be able to maintain the exercise for longer periods of time, at least without some soldier pills. Naruto, for his part, smiled at Kakashi's idea. Ninjutsu was his favorite area of the shinobi arts.

* * *

**===With Yuugao===**

It was already night time in Konoha and Anbu Yuugao was busy patrolling the village.

She heard from the Hokage that Naruto had already returned from his mission, but she couldn't locate him anywhere. It wasn't like him to vanish just like that, without even saying anything to her. She had a few minutes left before another Anbu would replace her. When she passed the hokage monument, she was surprised by the sudden spike of chakra right on top of the mountain. Quickly climbing the mountain, she was shocked to see both Kakashi and Tenzou attacking Naruto non-stop with every jutsu available. So, he was being trained by Kakashi the entire time, she surmised. She saw both Kakashi and Yamato using the great dragon projectile technique at Naruto. The blond created a fierce hurricane around his body, which managed to block the water dragon.

Naruto, then, used some hand seals of his own and used a similar technique, one of his creations, called Water Dragon Fang technique. He aimed it at Tenzou, who lifted a mud barrier to block it.

Kakashi took the opportunity and grabbed a lone shuriken and threw it at Naruto, before multiplying it. Naruto used the Water Barrier technique and used the water for another water dragon technique back at Kakashi. Yuugao questioned why they only used ninjutsu. She also could see that both Kakashi and Yamato were losing their abilities to stand, while Naruto remained perfectly fine. It was understandable, though, seeing as her boyfriend's chakra capacity was perhaps higher than Hokage-sama herself. Tenzou tried using another technique, but he was unconscious after the second hand seal, leaving Kakashi alone against Naruto. The man couldn't use his Sharingan and like Yamato, he was at his limit. Naruto, though, didn't appear tired. Of course, she was talking about a man who was able to produce five hundred kage bunshins and not tire.

"Wait Naruto, let's finish this. I don't have enough chakra and Yamato here is already unconscious. I…."

"Perhaps, I could be of assistance, Kakashi-sempai." Yuugao said, upon approaching her senior. "I have a debt to settle with my boyfriend. Naruto-kun, it's at least customary to greet me after you return from your mission."

The chunnin smiled at his girlfriend as he already knew what would follow. His chakra capacity was already reduced, due to Kakashi and Yamato's fight. Now, he would have to fight Yuugao using chakra through his bo-staff. Kakashi nodded at the woman, who already grabbed her ninjato and attacked Naruto. While this was happening, Kakashi took his last soldier pill and gave it to Yamato. Naruto was, indeed, an endless pit of chakra, there was no better description. Each jounin had two soldier pills total. Seeing as the fatigue took over his body, Kakashi closed his eyes as well, next to the sleeping Yamato. Naruto and Yuugao saw this, but they paid it little mind. Naruto was gone for far too long and she would take full opportunity of every second with her boyfriend.

And she didn't mean training with him.

* * *

**===Next day===**

When Kakashi and Yamato woke up the next day, they saw that Naruto was already up training on his own.

Yuugao was nowhere to be seen, so Kakashi figured that she was at the Anbu HQ. Little did he know what actually happened while they were asleep. From his distance, he couldn't see Naruto's blush as he remembered what happened, wondering if anyone else heard the couple's moans as they ravished each other. Yuugao began to show a much perverted side than usual as she came up with new positions that she wanted to try. The last one, though, was perhaps the weirdest one. He couldn't deny the results, though, as the hormones won the battle of dominance.

Naruto was practicing some advanced katas, when Kakashi came to him.

"I figured that you'd at least sleep a little bit Naruto. What happened last night?" As if Naruto would tell him everything…

"Yuugao-chan and I sparred for a while, until she left. I went to sleep soon afterward, Kakashi-sensei. I don't require much, though." Kakashi presumed that his chakra recovery rate was much faster than the regular shinobi, because of the fox.

"Okay, then, keep it up for a while. This time, we'll let you exhaust your chakra supply with kage bunshins. You'll summon one hundred and each will perform jutsus." Naruto nodded, while performing his dance. He focused wind chakra through his bo-staff and started to spin it madly. A few seconds later, Kakashi couldn't see the staff spinning. However, he could see the typhoon that was generated from it. The blond, then, stopped the spin movement, but still focused wind chakra through the weapon. He swung it and sent a wave of slicing wind towards a rock nearby. The rock was sliced in half soon afterward. Wind training involved sharpening your chakra and Naruto managed that aspect, making him a master of the element. Naruto, then, left his bo-staff on the ground and turned to look at the still sleeping Yamato. Yesterday, the three used only jutsus against each other. And while chakra wasn't much concern for Naruto, it was for normal shinobi. Kakashi would be in the same situation if he used the Sharingan.

"Wouldn't it be best if we waited for Yamato to wake up, Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi turned to his jounin partner and sighed in dismay. The man was snoring like crazy and he knew that it would take an entire day for the man to wake up.

"I'm afraid he will be sleeping the entire day, so I'll be overseeing your training. Also, since you won't be using the fox's chakra, his technique won't be necessary. Now, you can rest for twenty minutes only. After that, you'll be using chakra until night time."

Doing as he was told, Naruto summoned an army of clones and told them to perform jutsus, until their chakra was gone. Naruto, would, then, summon more as time went by. It was Kakashi's hope that Naruto's chakra capacity ends in more or less two hours. Those who didn't know what was going on here, would question why five hundred Narutos were performing jutsu after jutsu without any need to. Kakashi could see typhoons, wind swords, jets of water, water barriers, etc. He saw some wind jutsus that he never saw Naruto use before. As instructed, every time a clone vanished, Naruto summoned one more to replace the one that vanished. The time between the substitutions worked well in the end. The information retrieved by the real one was going at a steady pace.

An hour and a half later and Naruto was already showing signs of fatigue.

Kakashi could only wonder how much time Naruto could manage if he was using the fox's chakra. Fifteen minutes later, the blond's eyes threatened to fail him. Finally it took one hour and forty five minutes for Naruto to fall on the ground, unconscious. Immediately, Kakashi placed a seal on Naruto's forehead so that the fox can't take this opportunity and escape. This entire idea was Kakashi's and he wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility of freeing the beast. He, then, lifted Naruto's body and placed him next to the sleeping Yamato, before taking a seat on the ground in front of them. Taking a bento box, Kakashi decided to have some lunch, since it would take a while for both to wake up and he was hungry. Afterwards, he supposed it was high time to catch up on some reading.

"I take it you finally managed to tire him out, sempai?" Yuugao asked, appearing in front of Kakashi, who didn't take his focus off the bento box.

"I decided to increase the odds a little bit. Kage bunshins wastes a lot of chakra and he's been summoning those and using other jutsus at the same time for almost two hours. I doubt that even Jiraiya and Tsunade-sama could accomplish that together. Naruto's chakra capacity is endless. It amazes me that his chakra coils aren't fully developed yet. Without the Kyuubi's chakra, his chakra capacity is easily four times as mine. With the fox's chakra, his capacity raises to one hundred times my own chakra capacity."

Yuugao snorted behind her mask.

"I still wonder what you're attempting by exhausting his chakra capacity, Kakashi-sempai. It's not that he needs to increase the amount."

"The Yondaime's seal is dependent of Naruto's chakra in order to subdue the fox. So, if we increase Naruto's chakra capacity, then he'll have more chances at controlling the third tail stage."

Yuugao nodded and bid her superior goodbye with the promise of passing by once more tonight.

* * *

**===Inside Naruto's mind===**

'_Oh right fur ball, what's your deal? You said I wouldn't have trouble using three tails of power. What was that all about?' _

Right after Naruto was unconscious; his mind went straight to the fox's lair and questioned the damn demon. According to the Kyuubi, Naruto wouldn't feel any animosity from the fox's chakra, upon using the third tail. However, despite the blond's ability to subdue his urges, Naruto doubted that he could hold the fox's urges for more than five minutes. So, naturally, the chunnin demanded some explanations from the nine tailed demon. Of course, the fox started with its usual chilling laughter, before explaining.

'_**Quit complaining you pathetic piece of meat, you should feel honored to have access to my power. Now, the reason why you weren't able to control three tails worth of my chakra was because your chakra coils aren't used to so much of my energy. The first time, at least, was meant for you to adapt to three tails worth of power.' **_Naruto frowned at the demon, since this specific information was left out from the previous conversation. He knew, though, that if he was to comment about it, he would receive only laughter as reply. Still, Kyuubi wasn't finished. '_**My chakra is poisonous, brat, but since I'm inside you, you don't have to worry about your coils and tenketsus. The next time it'll be much easier. Oh and do remember to explain to that dog sensei of yours that little plan of his is useless. The seal maybe pumped by your chakra, but it cannot control the malice behind my chakra.' **_

Naruto knew this to be true, but he hadn't said anything in hopes that Kakashi would come up with something new. In the end, he managed to practice his jutsus a lot and managed to gather lots and lots of information from his clones.

'_If I find out, you're lying to me damn fur ball, our deal is off. I'm not that thrilled to be using your chakra anyway.' _

* * *

**===At the Hokage's Office===**

It was already night time as Tsunade finished reading the Raikage's letter for the tenth time already. 'A' was considered one of the proudest kages ever to run Kumogakure, even more than his predecessor was. So, when the man writes a letter wanting to form a temporary alliance towards a common goal, Tsunade had to make sure if she was in a genjutsu instead. Reading once more, she sighed in dismay and remembered how Kumogakure used to be Konoha's worst enemies at the last great shinobi war. What would trigger this proposal, she mused. The letter said that after seeing what Akatsuki was capable of, the Raikage argued that Kumo and Konoha should join forces and deal with the Akatsuki once and for all.

Tsunade had half a mind and to accept it right away.

But first she needed to look over what was underneath this proposal. Tsunade learned that Naruto caused a lot of trouble for the Raikage's brother and Hachibi Jinchuuriki. And according to Kakashi, the Raikage took Konoha's experience in dealing with the Akatsuki into great consideration. Perhaps, the man is hoping that Konoha would deal with the organization once and for all, and with it, save the Nibi and Hachibi Jinchuuriki from being captured. No, he wouldn't resort to such cowardly means. The offer was too tempting, though Tsunade also had issues with internal clan business. The affair with the Hyuuga Clan that caused the death of the Hyuuga Hizashi was still fresh in their minds. Quite certainly, they would demand retribution before accepting the alliance and, quite certainly, the Raikage wouldn't approve. The woman turned her neck to her right, before a toad appeared on her desk. She was expecting a letter from Jiraiya, but was surprised when the toad, instead, opened his mouth wide and an arm appeared from it. It was Jiraiya's arm.

Within seconds, the sannin was out of the toad's mouth and he saw Tsunade looking at him with a shocked expression. Suddenly, he remembered that she had yet to see this rather unorthodox method of transportation. Tsunade surpassed it, though, in time. She was hoping that he would explain soon.

"How was the mission? Did you manage to place the seal?" Jiraiya responded the question with a smirk as he remembered what happened. As soon as he found Sasuke, he placed his hand on Sasuke's arm. But the real mission wasn't to harm him or even take him back to Konoha. Imprinted on his hand was a seal created by both Jiraiya and Tsunade. The seal would become a part of Sasuke's chakra system and will activate once Orochimaru attempted to take possession of the Uchiha's body. The seal would prevent the possession as well as release a potent poison inside Orochimaru's system, killing him instantly. It was the strongest poison that Tsunade had in her arsenal, which was lethal against snakes.

"You expected less from the great Jiraiya of the Sannin?" By the look on her face, she was indeed expecting this.

"Good job. Perhaps, this way, we can prevent Orochimaru from obtaining the Sharingan. Now read this and tell me what you think." Jiraiya caught the letter tossed by Tsunade and read it intently for a while.

"I think you're in great trouble, that's what I think. Dealing with Akatsuki, in my book, is reason enough to accept it, but…"

"But, I have to pass this motion to the council and we both know that Hiashi won't accept it." Jiraiya nodded and smiled at her.

"I'm sure you'll know what to do, now I believe I'll go search for my student and congratulate him for a mission well done. It's not every day one person convinces a man such as the Raikage to propose an alliance and with us no less. I guess it's another one of those circumstances which none of us understand." Tsunade smiled and took a blank scroll. She wrote the order to gather the clan council in two days.

Jiraiya had already gone after Naruto.

* * *

**Author Note**

Well, what you think?

Rather small, I know. It served to answer some questions left unanswered from last chapter.

I'll begin a different alliance, consisted of Kumo, Konoha and Suna. And it won't be a full-out war like canon, but fights between shinobi.

See ya.


	17. Old hatred and new decisions

**Author Note**

Hello there, it's been a while since I last updated this story.

The reason for that is the same as the others, with the exception of Full Moon and Hunter-nin, which are scheduled to meet its end quite soon. Now, regarding this story in particular, I've had to take some time and think about the next steps I want it to take. As I stated in previous chapters, the plot would take a different turn of events from canon, regarding the alliance and Akatsuki. So, be sure to expect new adventures for our hero and his comrades as well as his new partner in life Yuugao.

In this chapter, I'll give a mission to Naruto and Yuugao that will take him towards Sunagakure.

While that happens, Tsunade will have her fair share of patience upon communicating the council about Kumogakure's letter of reply regarding an alliance formed with Konoha and Suna for the sole purpose of defeating Akatsuki for good. Both her leadership and political abilities will be put to test so that she can convince, or not, the council to approve the alliance. In the end of the chapter, I'll focus on Sasuke a little bit.

Before proceeding, though, I'll take some time and answer the reviews.

* * *

**Dezzal** – The reason why you believe that is because their relationship is actually known by a precious few. If they went out on a date, then people would know about it.

**Elemental Dragon Swordman** – Check this chapter and you'll find something quite interesting.

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Now, here's the chapter.

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**Chapter 17 - Old hatred and new decisions**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

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Senju Tsunade had awoken this morning, dreading about the gigantic headache that would soon occur. A couple of hours ago, she had sent messages to all the clan heads of Konoha, as well as the council of elders, as to inform them of a meeting when she would present a document of extreme importance against the Akatsuki. The word alone had merit, so she didn't need to inform all of them of the document's contents beforehand. With ten minutes left, Tsunade began to anticipate the possible arguments both in favor and against the Raikage's proposal for an alliance between Kumo, Konoha and Sunagakure for the special and only purpose of defeating the Akatsuki.

Of course, she would give first word to the Hyuuga Clan, considering their past history with Kumo.

Hyuuga Hiashi, up to this day, still mourns his brother's actions and could quite possibly vote against Kumo's offer. Tsunade knew that to be bad, considering the Hyuuga Clan's power within the council. A great majority of the changes that Tsunade managed to approve in Konoha were due to the vote of confidence displayed by the Hyuuga Clan. Sure, the other ones were important, but it didn't mean much if the Hyuuga are the opposition force. Still, the special and only purpose of defeating Akatsuki was an argument she could use to convince Hiashi that the alliance was only temporary. After hearing Kakashi's report about Naruto's fight against the Hachibi Jinchuuriki, she was more than confident that both Naruto and the Raikage's brother would form one hell of a duo, capable of great things together. Not to mention the joint power of destruction as well.

A knock on the door was heard, signaling the beginning of Tsunade's headache as her assistant Shizune's head appeared from within the open door.

"Tsunade-sama, all the clan heads are gathered. It's time to start." The first female Hokage nodded, before leaving one big sigh in dismay.

"Thanks Shizune, I'll be there in one minute. Please send word for Kakashi, he should be t…" As if expecting to hear his name, the man suddenly entered the Hokage's office.

"I guess it's a good thing that I was passing by this neighborhood."

Tsunade looked at the jounin for a while, before a smirk appeared on her face. She didn't know why she was so surprised, since Kakashi always seemed to hang around the Hokage's office.

"Since you went to Kumo and talked with the Raikage, there might be some questions left for you, so I called you to participate as well. I'm sure you know that there is a high possibility that this alliance won't be approved, considering Kumo's history with the Hyuuga. And even if the offer is approved by the majority of the council, I still have to tell the Kazekage about it, who will then pass the offer to his council." That last part really bummed Tsunade more than her council. Passing through two councils is a major situation. Kumo had trouble with all the major villages, not only with Konohagakure. Kakashi, though, wasn't fazed.

"I bet the worst is passing the motion through Konoha's council. Gaara has a major vote of confidence from his council. Both his brother and sister are part of it."

"I hope you're right, because I don't want to go through this mess for everything to be in vain. I'm even thinking of demanding some of Kumo's sake from the Raikage." Tsunade said, before marching towards the door with Kakashi and Shizune behind her.

After entering the meeting room, Tsunade felt all eyes on her, while she crossed the room to reach her seat, flanked by both Kakashi and Shizune. While walking, she briefly studied everyone's reactions so as to verify those that would be more likely to oppose her in this manner. The majority of the ninja clan heads had the same faces as she remembered. The head of the Nara clan had a look of clear boredom as was expected of Shikaku. Chouza Akmichi and Inoichi Yamanaka were both smiling, like usual. The Aburame and Hyuuga were collected and more reserved. The other clan heads were the same as well. The elders were unreadable, much to her frustration.

In the end, though, only one elder's opinion mattered, because the other two would just follow his lead.

This influential man was sitting right in front of the Hokage's seat on the other side of the table, with his only visible eye closed. Apart from Hiashi in this manner, Danzou was Tsunade's worst political enemy. Tsundade could loath him as much as she wanted, but she couldn't deny that he has a great amount of influence over this council's decisions. Countless times she remembered her old sensei being outvoted because of Danzou's actions. If she had issues with the Hyuuga Clan regarding the approval of the alliance, she now had to think about the possibility of Danzou meddling as well. Tsunade approached her seat and addressed everyone appropriately.

"Welcome distinguished clan heads and elders of Konoha. I appreciate you all for coming here and I promise that this will be as brief as possible."

Typical bureaucratic greeting, but Tsunade couldn't simply start the meeting, cursing everyone and throwing Kumo's offer for them to vote for, without first explaining everything to its finest detail.

"As all of you know, one week ago, I've sent a team lead by elite jounin Hatake Kakashi towards Kumogakure in order to inform the Raikage of the Akatsuki organization's existence and how dangerous they can be. At first, the man was reluctant to even receive the info, saying that one small organization such as Akatsuki couldn't be considered a threat to one of the five great hidden villages. After extensive persuasion from Kakashi and his team, the Raikage, reluctantly, agreed to take a look at the info we presented." Of course, Tsunade couldn't simply reveal that the 'persuasion' was actually a fight between jinchuurikis. She allowed some time for the information to sink in, before she continued. "It took less than a second for the proud Yondaime Raikage to realize the danger posed by the organization, after taking a brief look on the known associates."

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but why were we called here just for a mission report?" The head of the Inuzuka clan asked, demonstrating her lack of patience in this manner.

"Before I explain the reason why I called you all here, I felt it was only reasonable to explain what happened beforehand. Now, the mission ended in success with a letter of reply by the Raikage." She took some time, knowing that she had the council's full attention right now. "He starts the letter appreciating the information supplied by us, but the second part is the very reason why I called this meeting to order. The Raikage wishes to form an alliance with us and Sunagakure for the special purpose of defeating Akatsuki." The sudden silence that ruled the room was deafening as everyone, rather unconsciously, started looking at Hiashi for his reaction. Like Tsunade, everyone remembered the episode that pretty much solidified the Hyuuga Clan's reservations against Kumogakure. Hyuuga Hiashi was clearly affected by the sudden news as something deeply buried within him resurfaced once more.

The death of his brother, on that faithful day, affected him.

"Hiashi, I think everyone here knows what Kumo has done to your family, hence the main reason why I called this meeting. As Hokage, I grant you the right to, single handedly, annul this alliance should it ever be approved by this council." She couldn't lie, because Hiashi would see right through it with his eyes. She had to speak to him with complete honesty; otherwise she wouldn't have his trust. Hiashi looked at the woman from the corner of his eyes, before closing it for a second.

"If I have the right to veto, then it's only logical to exclude the Hyuuga Clan's vote in this particular manner. I'll wait until the last vote to speak." Tsunade nodded, seeing as the man was right.

"Ok then, unless someone here has more objections, shall we move on to the votes?" Tsunade asked, quite surprised that only Hiashi opened his mouth so far.

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**===With Naruto (lemon time, so be warned) ===**

Unaware that his name was mentioned in the council meeting, Naruto was quite busy inside his bedroom. He was busy just lying on his bed as he watched his gorgeous and sexy girlfriend stripping. One thing that Yuugao often teased about was that she, in her chunnin days, was often summoned to perform the seduction and assassination missions that no other girl was willing to perform, except for Anko of course. That being said, she knew a lot of ways to render the target helpless against her control, which was just fine for Naruto. Lust associated with the danger of losing his life ended up inspiring his dirty mind into picturing the possible services provided by his mistress.

Add to the fact that the woman was taking her battle clothes off and the blond was shivering in anticipation.

Being sensitive to swift emotion changes, Yuugao smirked at the reaction as she slowly unclipped her chest armor, while looking straight at Naruto's deep cerulean blue eyes. She could feel how much her man wanted her right now and her body responded to Naruto's desire. After the chest armor, came the white straps that separated the armor from her bare soft and desired skin. Instead of unwrapping it, though, Naruto was surprised when Yuugao took her ninjato and performed a quick slicing motion inches from her skin. Much to his surprise and utter amazement, the ninjato only sliced the wrappings and revealed her breasts. Perfect was the only word that came out of Naruto's mouth as he remembered the last time he took some time admiring them. The woman knew that Naruto's eyes were fixated at the ladies, so she opted to play a little with them, before seeing a small smile appear on his mouth.

She already knew what passed through her perverted boyfriend's mind with that smile alone.

Still with her Anbu pants on and her boots, she marched towards the bed and slowly climbed on top of her boyfriend, leaning towards his face. Yuugao let out a sudden moan in surprise as Naruto's right hand grasped her left breast, before slowly massaging it. Meanwhile, she took her right hand and went downstairs, one hundred percent sure that she would get the desired effect from her boyfriend. As soon as she touched it, she regretted her actions, simply because it not only got her desired effect, but also something happened inside of her. It was due to the number of of flashbacks that passed through her mind of their previous times together.

After that, she couldn't take it much longer and started kissing Naruto as if his mouth was a drug she couldn't live without. Their bodies were intertwining in random movements as each took their fair share of time pleasuring the other through the use of their hands. The make-out session ended up sending heated signals to their hormones and it didn't take long for them to let go of their control and ravish each other's mouth. Both of Naruto's arms wrapped Yuugao in a fierce hug, before grabbing Yuugao's Anbu pants. He ripped it off, before caressing her butt. The woman was, if possible, even more aroused at the display of strength. She took care of the rest and was now became completely naked next to her lover. Her hands returned to Naruto's member, but Naruto's hands also reached downstairs, earning a smile in pleasure from the woman. She knew what would follow next as Naruto's hands started massaging her clitoris slowly, performing small finger thrusts inside from time to time.

The heat in the room was high enough to increase the amount of sweat produced by the couple, while proceeding with the act of love making. Both of them enjoyed the feeling of direct skin contact added with teasing from both parties. Right now, Naruto's hand was massaging Yuugao's lower area, while the woman was busy passing her hand over his member's tip. Neither allowed the other to let out a moan in pleasure, though, as they were involved in a hot kissing moment. It turned out to be a daunting task as each carved for a few seconds of breath. As soon as the kissing stopped, Yuugao let out a long and sexy moan that practically hypnotized the blond into believing that she wanted more.

A needless assumption to be made, he reasoned.

He immediately flipped positions and placed his body on top of Yuugao, before using his tongue around her entire body. The tongue contact surprised the woman as she looked at how the blond was working her breasts. His eyes were closed as he slowly rounded her nipples with his tongue. Biting her inner lip, she reached down and grabbed Naruto's hard member, before initiating a furious hand job. She caught his subtle loss of air and smiled, before using her free hand to slowly caress his blond hair. She always wondered why it was so soft, since her boyfriend wasn't much interested in washing his hair. She never complained, though.

"You seem to be quite eager, Yuugao-chan."

While maintaining the attention to her chest, his eyes were locked with hers, as he waited for her response. His tongue, then, started its descent and landed right where Yuugao wanted it.

"You actually took longer this time." As if anticipating Naruto's actions, Yuugao immediately bended her body backwards at the sudden explosion of arousal as Naruto's tongue found its way inside her. She immediately released her hold on Naruto's member because of it as her body trembled in excitement. Naruto's hands forced her thigh to open the path for him and she didn't resist. Instead, both her hands started massaging her breasts, while screaming Naruto's name, asking for more tongue thrusts. Naruto happily attended and even increased the pace to which Yuugao appreciated in kind by letting out a much louder moan. She lifted her body a bit as to admire her boyfriend's work. They remained like that for a good ten minutes and Yuugao wished she could remain like that forever. Unfortunately, her body carved for more than just his tongue.

"Oh Kami, I want it, I want it now Naru-kun." The blond smiled and immediately released his tongue from active duty, before placing his member in a straight path towards Yuugao's entry point. He took his time entering slowly, while opening her inner walls. Yuugao could feel her insides being filled by his member and even rolled her eyes, after the blond reached the back wall. Afterwards, he got into position on top of her and initiated the thrust sequence. The couple hugged each other and kissed, while the blond increased the pace. Maintaining the kiss, Yuugao let out silent moans, showing how she was struggling to maintain the make out session while feeling Naruto's member filling her inside walls. When the kiss ended, the couple stared at each other with passion. Between hitched breaths of ecstasy, neither felt the interest to do anything other than look at the other's eyes.

"I love you Naruto-kun." As soon as the words came out of Yuugao's mouth, a broad smile appeared on her boyfriend's face. She smiled even more when a lone tear escaped his eyes.

It was the first time someone ever said that to him.

"I love you too Yuugao-chan." After that, he landed a fierce and passionate kiss on her lips, which Yuugao returned eagerly as Naruto remained the penetration.

The couple remained the act of love making for quite a while, hugging each other as well. This was their moment and no one would dare ruin it.

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**===End of Lemon===**

After the love making, the two considered their options. Both were covered with sweat from the love making and a co-op shower would be the most suitable choice. But, instead, they simply remained in bed as Yuugao was busy resting her head on Naruto's chest. That moment right there was everything both cherished. Both were surrounded with life and death situations with Naruto being hunted by the Akatsuki because of his jinchuuriki status and Yuugao being an Anbu captain. These precious moments together made all the difference in their worlds. That's why neither one of them ever felt the need to go out on dates or even appear to the public as boyfriend and girlfriend. In Naruto's world, the only ones who knew were Kakashi and the two sannins. In Yuugao's world, her entire Anbu squad knew, but they were her family as much as the sannins and Kakashi were Naruto's. They were the ones that mattered to this couple.

"This couldn't be better right Naruto-kun" Yuugao could see his smile that seemed to brighten the room every time.

"You got that right."

Their only complaint was that Konoha didn't have a delivery service.

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**===Back at the meeting===**

A lot of time passed since the voting began and Tsunade was busy massaging her temples while listening to a minor ninja clan head announcing his vote against the alliance. The reasoning for such was valid. Pretty much all of those against it had every right to be upset at Kumogakure for their actions at the last great shinobi war. The man that just spoke belonged to a clan famous for their water based techniques. The clan supplied a great load of new water ninjutsu for the hidden village in the leaves and some of the techniques managed to save quite a lot of lives. The clan, though, suffered a great many casualties from the hands of Kumo's finest. So, the Hokage couldn't take away the merit of his decision. So far, the vote was pretty much tied. In fact, only one clan remained from voting; the Hyuuga Clan. Throughout the entire meeting, Hiashi remained silent with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

"Well, after hearing everyone's votes and reasons for such, I announce that the voting is tied right now. Only one remains, so I pass the word to you Hiashi. The destiny of this alliance is hereby decided by the Hyuuga Clan."

Everyone who knew Tsunade up close knew the meaning behind her detached tone right now. She had lost all hope of the alliance's approval. She now depended on the head of the Hyuuga Clan to vote in favor of an alliance with a village that tried to kidnap his daughter Hinata and managed to kill his twin brother Hizashi. It was the same as expecting Sasuke to vote against his brother Itachi's death. It simply wasn't possible in her mind. Hiashi, for his part, opened his eyes, but remained with his arms crossed. He didn't stand up like the others, since he preferred to remain seated.

"Since the beginning of wars waged against Konohagakure, Kumogakure has been an enemy. I remember my deceased father and grandfather telling me about their actions during the first great ninja war and since then, I've learned to watch out for them. But it wasn't until that fateful day when the Kumogakure emissary attempted to kidnap my daughter which resulted in my brother's death, that I openly expressed my hatred for them." Hiashi spoke, with enough calm, about what was possibly the worst day of his life. "Hizashi's death affected almost everyone in the clan, including both my daughter and my nephew Neji, up to the point that the boy resented the main family because of it. Therefore, Hokage-sama, based on those facts alone, my vote would be against the alliance."

Tsunade released a sigh in dismay and nodded, but something inside her mind repeated the word 'would' that escaped from the man's mouth.

"Nevertheless, with the situation we are facing right now, namely the organization Akatsuki and the danger they pose to our village, it would be quite selfish on my part to believe that Konohagakure alone could deal with the current threat. The known associates from the organization are dangerous enough in their own right, not to mention the other members we are still due to meet. For all we know, both Itachi and Kisame may be their weakest members. Kumogakure is in possession of two jinchuurikis, both of them in full control of their tailed beasts. That's a power that we cannot ignore and it would be in our favor against Akatsuki. Therefore, my vote is in favor of the alliance but for the sole purpose of defeating Akatsuki, nothing more."

As soon as Hiashi spoke, silence ruled the meeting as everyone looked at the pupil less man in front of them with clear surprise.

Even the Hokage was wide eyed at this amazing turn of events. The one person she expected to ruin the alliance ended up saving it. With a smile on her face, she grabbed the official Hokage seal and branded the offer with it, before passing to Shizune for the necessary arrangements. Now that the first and, in her opinion, hardest part was over, it now came the time to pass the ball to the Kazekage and their council. And she had the perfect ninja for the assignment of communicating Gaara about the approval.

After all, it was their idea to talk with the other Kages in the first place. If Tsunade wasn't mistaken, Yuugao was on a slight vacation right now. Perhaps, this little trip might do her some good as well.

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**===With Naruto===**

Still complaining about the lack of delivery services in Konoha, Naruto and Yuugao went to the kitchen and fixed some sandwiches for them. Their plan right now was to finish their sandwiches and go straight to bed. Neither one had any plans right now and sleeping sounded like a winner. However, it was in these moments that something happened and ruined their moment. This time, it came from a knock on the door. Immediately, Naruto and Yuugao looked at each other for a while and sighed in dismay. Naruto didn't have many visitors, if any at all. Putting on some light clothes, since he was still naked, the blond approached the door and opened before seeing Kakashi with his normal salute.

"Yo Naruto, can I come in? I have some important business to discuss."

"Sure Kakashi-sensei. Wait just a minute. Yuugao-chan, Kakashi is coming in." The man had enough experience to know that if he were to enter the apartment right now, he would have seen his ex-Anbu partner without her clothes. Practically imagining what occurred throughout the day, the man felt the need to let out his perverted laughter. The blond seemed to catch on that, seeing as Jiraiya had the same look on his face at times. Both of them always pictured themselves reading/writing a book describing everything in full detail.

"You're not thinking what I guess you're thinking huh Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi looked surprised at his student, before waving dismissively, as in trying to dissuade his student of that idea.

"Evening Kakashi-sempai." Yuugao said as she appeared behind Naruto with black shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Kakashi greeted the woman and entered the apartment as Naruto closed the door. Once the three shinobi were at the kitchen, Kakashi threw a scroll straight at Naruto. The blond caught it and looked at his sensei. He knew what that meant. He had to leave Yuugao once more. Something in that sounded weird for him.

"Where to this time, sensei?" Yuugao was sad as well, but maintained a stoic demeanor, while waiting for Kakashi's explanation.

The man then took his time explaining what happened today, beginning from the Raikage's letter and finishing with the alliance's approval. He explained that the proposal must pass through the Sunagakure council's analysis, hence the location of the mission. Naruto sighed once more and nodded at his sensei. Kakashi could see the sudden sad atmosphere in the room. The blond dismissed himself to get dressed for the assignment, leaving Kakashi alone with Yuugao.

"What's up with him?" Kakashi asked, but needed to rephrase it. "What's up with both of you?"

"Naruto had just arrived from that mission to Kumogakure and we're hoping to spend some more time together. With the Anbu missions and his, we barely spent time together." Kakashi smiled, though.

"Why are you smiling? Is my sadness amusing to you Kakashi-sempai?" The man remembered how threatening this tone of hers really was, so he decided to stop teasing. He knew about her abilities with a sword.

"I never said that _I_ would be the one to go with him Yuugao. Do you still have your old jounin clothes?"

It took actually a minute for the woman to understand what was going on, before she smiled at the man. She left the table and went to tell the news to Naruto in a happier tone that Kakashi was accustomed to seeing. He figured that right now his presence was not necessary, so he went to the door. Before closing the door, he heard Naruto asking if Yuugao even had a jounin outfit, considering that she has been in Anbu for a long time now.

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**====Next day===**

Naruto and Yuugao left Konoha at the break of dawn, considering the mission's importance. Naruto was wearing the same outfit he always wore, but Yuugao's was different. Not hotter than her Anbu outfit in Naruto's opinion, but it fitted her nicely. She didn't let go of the Anbu style black pants and added with fishnet shirt, covered by the jounin vest. She never enjoyed using clothes that would restrict her sword movements, so she always preferred sleeveless clothes. It didn't mean that Naruto stopped commenting on how sexy she was in ninja clothes. She joked with him about quitting with the flattery, but inside she loved every single second of it. This was their first mission and she remembered to thank the Hokage for it. Surprisingly so, before leaving, they were greeted by Kakashi at the gates together with the Hokage. This was perhaps the first time Kakashi was early for something.

It didn't take them long to leave the village's security perimeter as they charged towards Sunagakure with extreme speeds. Time was off the essence, after all.

"Okay Yuugao-chan, seeing as you're the leader of the mission, how shall we proceed?" The woman could feel a playful tone, but decided to go along with it.

"Well, seeing as I'm the boss, I can order you to do anything, right? Otherwise, I could report your insubordination."

Now her tone indicated something different and it looked like Naruto caught it right away. His girlfriend had some sort of kinky switch every now and then. It didn't mean that he would be complaining about it anytime soon, if ever at all.

"Yeah, so what is it that the boss requires, then?" She turned at him with a smile that scared him a little bit. Even to a ninja, Suna required a two-day trip; that meant that they would have to set up camp by the end of the day.

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**===With Sasuke===**

Lying alone in one of the many rooms stationed inside one of Orochimaru's hidden bases, Uchiha Sasuke had been looking at the ceiling for quite a long time now. The need for sleep didn't come to him as often as it should and it'd started since the encounter with the sannin Jiraiya. Three years ago, he betrayed Konohagakure, the very village his ancestors helped create, for one purpose. Gain power and with that power, kill his brother once and for all. Throughout the three years, Sasuke threw himself into a hard training, studying under a sannin of Orochimaru's caliber. He managed to accumulate a great load of knowledge through his eyes up to the point that his level has surpassed that of a mid-level jounin in terms of skill. That's not to count his cursed seal level one and two, both of which gives him an edge over high level jounins. Yet, after all that training, after all that hard labor, Jiraiya hardly had to work in order to beat the shit out of him.

The Uchiha clan's pride is simply uncontrollable and for Sasuke, being beaten so easily, really did hurt.

However, what hurt even more was the pervert's comment about the fact that the dobe was stronger than him. Getting beaten by a sannin, he could understand given that even Orochimaru had trouble with the guy. The thought of being inferior to Naruto in skill simply wasn't believable. The dobe was simply too much behind him three years ago, that even if Naruto managed to learn some stuff, he would be miles away from even being comparable. There was simply no chance in hell that the dobe became that strong. Being around Orochimaru and Kabuto, Sasuke heard quite a lot of what happened recently. How they conversed about Naruto being able to deal with two Akatsuki agents Deidara of Iwagakure and Sasori of Sunagakure, both considered S-ranked missing-nins. According to the information, Naruto's knowledge of wind ninjutsu was quite considerable, so Sasuke wondered about the possibility that the dobe managed to learn elemental manipulation in only three years. He has been practicing since he was nine years old under his father's tutelage.

What did Naruto have that he didn't? Three years ago, Sasuke truly believed he was being held back by Konoha, but now he couldn't help but realize that there wasn't much more the sannin Orochimaru could give him.

Perhaps, it was due time to go out there and fight some serious level shinobi and perhaps even copy new jutsus with the Sharingan. Itachi would meet his end by his hand one day, but right now he simply couldn't stay here any longer. The boy didn't need to be a genius to realize that his sensei would do everything in his grasp to stop Sasuke from fleeing. Sasuke also knew what Orochimaru's plans were for him and to tell the truth, he didn't believe it to be enough to defeat Itachi. Only a true Uchiha could defeat another, he thought. In order to escape, Sasuke had to take advantage of the man's increasing disease.

Once he escaped, he would work twice as hard in order to master his skills against powerful ninjas.

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**===With Naruto===**

A day and a half has passed since Naruto and Yuugao left Konoha and they were already running throughout the desert. Since Naruto had already taken this path, Yuugao placed him inches in front of her, so that they could travel much faster. Naruto would use his wind skills to decrease the air resistance in front of him and compensate it behind him, thus increasing his speed as well as Yuugao's. If someone were to study more closely, it seemed as if there was a force field surrounding both of them. Yuugao had to admit that she had never felt this light before in her life. The noise from each step on the ground was almost non-existent. Once in the desert, the couple could see the place where Sunagakure was created appearing on the horizon. It would take thirty minutes more give or take for them to reach the hidden village of sand. Because of Naruto's technique, he ended up lifting a small path of sand, so if someone were to look from a telescope, he or she could spot a considerable ball of sand moving in a straight line for Suna.

The gate guard did notice and warned the Kazekage immediately. Gaara took a while, but smiled upon feeling the person's identity along with someone else he didn't know.

He asked his siblings to greet his fellow jinchuuriki brother. While going back to his office, Gaara hoped that Naruto came with some good news.

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**Author Note**

Well, that's the end of the chapter.

So what you think? I'd like to hear some input about my work so far. Also, for those who don't yet know, I've come up with three different challenges and post them in my profile. They were originally ideas for new stories, but if I were to put them into paper, chances were that people would find me and demand my head for this. Therefore, I chose to create challenges in order to allow others to write it. Perhaps, some new writer decides to take it and show us his or her skills. In the end, I'm always interested in quality written fan fiction. Should any of you consider taking the challenge, please send me the link of the story.

Please check it out.

Also, this is my last update of the year of 2011, so to everyone, a late merry Christmas and a happy new year.

See ya.


	18. Teammate reunion

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to a new chapter of Regret.

It's been quite some time since I last updated this story and I felt compelled to bring in a rather enjoyable confrontation between two high level shinobi this time. I know that upon reading the title of the chapter, the readers will know right away. For those who are in doubt, it will be revealed throughout the chapter. This fight will be quite epic and the winner will only be known at the very end of the confrontation. Before starting the chapter, though, I will take some time and answer the reviews.

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**BowTechsniper** – I'm still in doubt about how far I'm taking this story, so my answer is maybe. In Full Moon, I ended with them getting married, there is a high chance that in this story, I'll go further and bring the next generation. In Hunter-nin, I'm only waiting for my beta to revise and then post it. Your answer will be there. Finally, a sequel for Full Moon isn't likely to happen. I'm only thinking of doing one sequel and that is being voted right now in my profile. I bet you have already seen it and even voted in favor of either 'Tired' or 'Lone Wolf'. Right now, Lone Wolf is winning the poll but is not by much (52% - Lone Wolf and 47% - Tired).

**Kingkakashi** – Yuugao being assigned with Naruto was more of a gift from Tsunade than anything, really. Both Naruto and Yuugao have been doing mission after mission.

**Goldenboy892007 **– Indeed, elemental bloodlines are a rather controversial subject in the Narutoverse. Hyouton, perhaps, is the most of them, seeing as Kishimoto had introduced us to two different scenarios. First, Haku mixing wind and water manipulation, formed ice based techniques. Then, the creator shows us the snow-nins performing what appeared to be _snow _based techniques, apart from the _ice _techniques from Haku, although calling the same element. Unless my memory is failing me, I remember the manga stating that the only ones who were able to use hyouton were the members of Haku's family. It's a shame that Kishimoto didn't bother to change the name. He could create an entirely new branch of ninjutsu called **Yukiton** (Snow Release) and not send everyone mixed signals.

**Sandaime Hokage** – Are reviews like yours that really improves my mood when I'm writing. I know that when I started writing, I kept hearing bad comments about my English. The only sign I received that people started enjoying my stories was the increase in reviews and hits numbers. There are few out there that are only interested in saying my writing was terrible, without even telling what I was doing wrong. I constantly seek improvement in everything I do, so it's nice to hear recognition for my efforts. Thank you!

With this out of the way, let's proceed with the chapter.

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**Chapter 18 – Teammate reunion**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Orochimaru was a perfectionist in every sense of the word. Everything he did, everything he designed, everything he thought was meant for a specific purpose. The man didn't bother his time with frivolities that didn't lead him to anything worthwhile. The same could be applied to his base like design. Every base he created had the same design, in order to confuse intruders. His bases were shaped like a maze with a great number of hallways. Some of them were dead ends; some of them were filled with doors that led to empty rooms and only a small number of hallways that actually leaded to the important parts of the base like Orochimaru's lab, training grounds and his subordinates' rooms. The halls that were dead ends even had hidden traps that would kill any intruder. That being said, if the intruder got lost, he would die. In one specific base located in the deep confines of Wind Country, aside from Kabuto and Orochimaru himself, only one shinobi resided.

_Uchiha Sasuke._

The Sharingan user was currently inside his room resting after a hard training consisted of purely lightning manipulation. He stood still the entire time, not moving but he was tired because of the strain of using large amounts of chakra. Because of the drug treatment provided by Kabuto, Sasuke's chakra took less time to be replenished. He could practically feel his chakra pool being filled. His heart rate was pounding quite hard at the prospect of what he was about to do when his chakra capacity return to normal. After more than three years training under a Sannin, Sasuke figured that he didn't have much more to learn under the man. His next step towards improvement was experience against other fighters. He had fought against a great number of enemies throughout the year, but he always had either Orochimaru or Kabuto by his side. It just wasn't the same thing. With the base map memorized, Sasuke had created a plan to escape the base.

Throughout this month, he observed the routine of both Orochimaru and Kabuto. The first was not a problem, since the man either was inside his lab or inside his room. Kabuto, though, was a problem, because he usually explored all the hallways of the base. Sasuke, though, figured out that after passing by his room, the man only returned fifteen minutes later, thus giving Sasuke a nice window to escape. He only needed to be careful not to leave clues on his way out. Closing his eyes for the moment, he waited for his chakra to be filled. Kabuto's steps could be heard a mile away, so the Uchiha knew when he was coming. The sound of the steps increased and thus Sasuke knew that Kabuto was passing by his hallway and doorstep. The door handle was turned a couple times, but Kabuto knew it was locked. It wasn't that much of a security, but Sasuke knew that should he use any type of technique to blast the door, his escape would be impossible.

The Uchiha heard Kabuto walking once more and opened his eyes immediately. He had little time to leave.

Quickly grabbing a hidden key below his bed, Sasuke slowly opened the door to his room and looked for any presence outside. He couldn't fully open the door because he couldn't risk causing any noise that would alert his caretakers. Once in the hallway, Sasuke closed the door and used his key to lock it. With a quick burst of chakra, he ignited the key on fire and melted it instantly. After a couple hand seals, the Uchiha placed a false surroundings genjutsu in front of his door so that when Kabuto passes by, he won't see anything different. The problem was now to walk towards the exit, without making a single sound. Anbu shinobi had a nifty technique that consisted of creating a layer of chakra below their feet for infiltration purposes. Said technique happened to be in the details inside the Uchiha Clan's Library and Sasuke remembered how he used to practice it by sneaking on his brother from time to time.

_Bastard somehow always knew I was coming…_

Sasuke took ten minutes before he saw the exit in front of him. He allowed a few seconds and smirked at his plan. So far, he didn't feel any one approaching. The only thing left was to take care of the sound ninja that stood in front of the base entrance as guards. The guards were three in total, but Sasuke dealt with them quickly, using the blunt side of his Kusanagi sword. He used another genjutsu and quickly left the base towards another one that his clan used to have. Anyone who passed by here would think that the guards were taking their duty seriously, when in fact they would only wake up two or three hours later. Enough time for the Uchiha to vanish without a trace. He knew that Orochimaru had ways to find him because of the cursed seal, but his reach was limited to a fifty miles radius from the snake's position.

Sasuke could cover this distance in less than fifteen minutes.

* * *

**===In Sunagakure===**

Unaware of the escape of his former teammate, Uzumaki Naruto and his girlfriend Yuugao had arrived at the hidden village of wind, before being escorted towards the Kazekage's Office by the chunnin guard. The village hadn't changed much since his last visit, but that wouldn't change anytime soon. The entire village was covered with sand and sand colored buildings. The population wore clothes that protected them from the sandstorms and extreme heat. Aside from that, the village wasn't that bad in Naruto's book, though he figured that taking this heat and waking on hot sand daily would get on his damn nerves in no time at all. Yuugao didn't mind much, being often times at the village when she was but a chunnin.

As soon as the Konoha ninjas entered the Kazekage's tower, Naruto couldn't help but release a sigh in relaxation upon escaping the strong heat.

If the Sand chunnin was angered by it, he didn't comment, but Yuugao was looking at her boyfriend with a slight angered look for his disregard for others' living arrangements. Naruto, though, simply shrugged his shoulders at her worry, while they casually walked through the tower's hallways. As they walked, Naruto managed to recognize a few Suna ninjas, though one of them he was dreading actually. Baki appeared in front of them and Naruto remembered that the man was responsible for killing Yuugao's old lover, a Tokubetsu Jounin named Gekkou Hayate. Yuugao, for her part, recognized the man immediately and unconsciously grabbed her sword handle. Another hand joined hers while holding the sword and the woman was surprised that Naruto was stopping her. She was surprised at everything because her body pretty much acted on old hatred.

She took a while to register what happened as the man passed by them. The Sand chunnin that was accompanying him stopped immediately and looked at the imminent threat.

"Is there a problem?" The man asked, already in position to retaliate, before Naruto released his hold on Yuugao's.

"Nothing you should concern yourself with, sorry about that. She gets jumpy with strangers from time to time." The chunnin looked at them for a while before nodding. Yuugao looked at the blond silently thanking him for the cover up. As an Anbu captain, she had a very good idea of what could have happened if Naruto hadn't moved in time to stop her. The boy simply smiled affectionately and nodded at her. He knew how deep Yuugao's feelings for Hayate were. Ever since their paths crossed, they talked about all sorts of things, including what happened to his lover after Hayate was killed by the sand-nin Baki. Naruto's pain from being a jinchuuriki did little to help him understand the pain of losing someone he loved, but he managed to help Yuugao by always being there for her, both mentally and physically. Being there physically meant being the punching bag for her frustrations.

It didn't take them much longer to reach the Kazekage's Office, before the chunnin opened the door and let Naruto and Yuugao in.

"Kazekage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto and Uzuki Yuugao from Konoha are here to see you." Gaara lifted his head from the stack of paperwork and looked at the door before his friend and a woman walked inside.

"Greetings Kazekage-sama/Hi there Gaara." Naruto and Yuugao said almost at the same time, before Yuugao looked at her boyfriend shocked at the level of disregard. It was one thing to say that to the Hokage, but to a Kage of another village was unheard of. She could tell that the Kazekage wasn't annoyed as she thought he would be. On contrary, the Wind Shadow was smiling at her boyfriend. Yuugao moved this event and filed it inside the folder named 'things her boyfriend did and that she shouldn't be surprised he got away with it.' It was becoming slightly hard to remember all of it, but it still had space in the hard drive for her to remember.

"Since you're here Naruto, I guess that whatever info you have is in reference to Akatsuki." Naruto nodded, before starting to report.

"The Hokage sent my team to Kumogakure in order to deliver a letter to the Raikage containing all information on Akatsuki and its members. Like you perhaps expected, the man, who is huge by the way, wasn't that much interested in receiving it. According to him, one organization made of nine missing-nin couldn't scare one of the great hidden villages." Despite Gaara's serious expression, he had to let out a small snort at that, showing how arrogant the Raikage was, but he let Naruto continue. "After Kakashi-sensei mentioned some of their names, though, the Raikage changed his mind a bit. He agreed to accept the information, but only if I agreed to fight his brother, the Hachibi Jinchuuriki." Gaara's eyebrow slightly rose at this as he knew that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki was the only jinchuuriki that managed to master the full power of its bijuu. "Luckily for me, the guy underestimated me. I managed to seal off his bijuu's chakra, leaving him tired enough for me to use the power of the fox and beat him." After Naruto finished, he could see Gaara smirking at him.

"So, considering your victory over the Hachibi Jinchuuriki, I assume that the Raikage accepted the info on Akatsuki?" The blond nodded, talking once more. Yuugao was fine with Naruto doing all the talking.

She was on vacation after all.

"Yes, he did. During my fight, though, two Akatsuki members attempted to capture the Two-tailed Jinchuuriki but the Raikage and his Anbu managed to stop them. It was pretty close, though, let me tell you. The woman was entirely drenched in blood and was about to be taken by the pair when the Raikage arrived, forcing the two to flee. I'd have imagined them to flee with her body, but somehow the Raikage managed to stop them." Gaara's brain was overloaded with new information on the organization. His stoic demeanor just couldn't keep up with Naruto's expertise in being at the same place that the organization was every god damn time.

"Do you have their names, Naruto? I don't suppose that the members were Itachi and Kisame, since they are the members designated to capture you." Naruto smirked at Gaara's perception.

"One of them is Kakuzu from Waterfall and the other is Hidan from Hot Springs. Not much is known about the two of them, just the report from the Nibi Jinchuuriki. According to her, Kakuzu barely fought at all, using only taijutsu at her with earth chakra. Hidan, though, is the most peculiar, at least from what her report said. He only attacked using a tri-blade red scythe. The woman used every skill she had at her disposal and she hit the man with all of them. Even some bijuu laced techniques weren't enough to kill the guy. He just kept coming. The technique Hidan used to beat her would have killed anyone else. Yugito, the Nibi Jinchuuriki, only survived because of her bijuu quickly closing the wound. She didn't understand it but this Hidan character did something to his skin, before deliberately wounding himself. The attack was immediately transferred to Yugito as if he had attacked her instead. It is indeed quite disturbing." Gaara was paying attention the entire time and even taking notes of Naruto's explanation. The news was quite troubling if the report was accurate.

An immortal shinobi was unheard of.

"Perhaps Hidan did something to Yugito before initiating his attack, otherwise it wouldn't be possible to establish said connection." Yuugao said, earning the Kazekage's attention, before nodding at the silent woman's logic. Gaara wasn't familiar with this village called Hot Springs, so he didn't know their practices. Indeed, in order to engage this S-ranked missing-nin, he or she must not allow Hidan to do any harm. Perhaps his defense ability could be the answer to Hidan.

"Indeed, Yuugao-san. Anyway, Naruto, I believe you didn't come here merely to report your success."

"It was part of it, actually. The other reason is a notification scroll for you sent by the Hokage. Kumogakure not only accepted the information but also brought up the idea of a temporary alliance in order to defeat Akatsuki. It's up to Suna and its council now, to accept the terms." Naruto said, before giving the scroll to Gaara who nodded, before opening the scroll completely. The terms weren't that extensive actually, allowing Gaara to analyze it entirely in only mere minutes. According to the scroll, the three villages would form a temporary truce in order to eliminate the threat represented by Akatsuki. It consisted of forming a special group of shinobi from all three villages in order to defeat the organization.

"I'll pass this with my council. Now, while your attempt bore fruit, mine didn't. The Tsushikage dismissed the idea of any form of alliance with Suna much less with Konoha for obvious reasons. Kirigakure and Takigakure decided to remain neutral in this matter. Both villages reasoned that since their jinchuuriki were already captured by the organization, there was no imminent threat right now to consider. Not even giving them the bigger picture of Akatsuki capturing the nine bijuu, was enough. Still, now that Deidara and Sasori are dead, we only have seven missing-nin to deal with. Certainly we can create groups to counter each one of them, considering that we meet all of them, of course." Naruto and Yuugao nodded at Gaara's comment.

"Well, since our mission here is done, we'll be taking our leave, Gaara." The Kazekage appreciated the report and released them before going back to his paperwork.

After leaving the Kazekage's office, Yuugao and Naruto turned to find a hotel for them to rest for the day. Their return to Konoha wasn't urgent, but consummating their relationship was.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

Sasuke kept on running towards this special location using all the strength and chakra he had at his disposal. He had an idea of the distance needed for Orochimaru to use his cursed seal against the Uchiha, but he wouldn't risk it. The place he was heading toward was used by the Uchiha Clan for weapon and medicine supply, as well as information gathering in the past. This place held a lot of memories for young Sasuke as he remembered the numbers of times that he went there with his elder brother. Just thinking of those times, made Sasuke's blood boil. Every memory he had were happy ones. For the live of him, he couldn't figure out how his brother went from that to what he is now.

With a new vigor, Sasuke remained running until he could see a giant castle located in a deserted field.

It didn't take ten minutes before he arrived at the city as he walked throughout the seemingly empty street. The yellow eyes that appeared in all the dark places, though, showed him that he wasn't alone. No one attempted to appear before the Uchiha and it suited him just fine since he wasn't looking forward to starting a conversation. The one he wanted to speak with certainly wouldn't be out on the streets. Sasuke entered what appeared to be an abandoned two-story house. Once inside, he crossed the hallway, leading towards a bright yellow light at the end. Before he could reach the end of the hallway, though, Sasuke was interrupted by a strange voice coming from behind.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha turned and met two cats dressed in ninja gear.

"Yes, it has Denka and Hina. Is Granny Cat here?"

"She is at the usual place, waiting for you to arrive." Sasuke nodded and proceeded to walk once more, before he reached the end of the hallway. As soon as he stepped foot inside the seemingly small room, Sasuke couldn't help but look around once more. The room was rather plain with beige walls, completely filled with weapons from all types and sizes; shuriken, kunai, ninjato, katana, kodashi, bo-staff, wakizashi, and pretty much a lot of other weapons that would lead a certain kunoichi in Konoha through countless orgasms. Right in the middle of the room stood Granny Cat, appearing half cat and half woman. She was seating on top of a blue pillow, while smoking her pipe.

"Sasuke-kun, it's been ages since you last came to visit."

"Indeed Granny Cat, the reason for the visit is brief as I'm in need of supplies." The woman nodded, though slightly peeved by the reserved expression on Sasuke's face.

After gathering everything he needed, going from first-aid kits to projectiles such as shuriken, kunai and explosive tags, Sasuke tossed the money to the elder woman and bowed in respect. He was about to turn and leave when the place when the old lady decided to speak. "You're going after him now aren't you?" Sasuke froze upon leaving the house, before turning to meet the old lady's gaze. Nowadays, the only one alive that remembered how close the Uchiha brothers were was her. The relation shared between the Uchiha Clan and the cats goes a long way and thus Granny Cat has seen a lot of things that happened to the Sharingan Family. All that remains from a once prominent clan are Sasuke and Itachi. Now, one of the two will live and other will die.

"Yes. It was nice seeing you Granny Cat. I'll take my leave now."

As she watched Sasuke leaving, the elder cat couldn't help but release a long sigh in dismay at what was about to happen between the Uchiha brothers.

* * *

**===Orochimaru's base===**

What was once a rather secluded place occupied by only three shinobi, now was filled with Orochimaru's underlings. The reason was pretty simple and it didn't take two seconds for everyone to know that their master was pissed, well more pissed than usual. Last night, Uchiha Sasuke managed to escape from their grasp without so much of a trace. Both Orochimaru and Kabuto were clueless as to the reason behind the escape. Sasuke has never shown any hint of uneasiness about being there. Even to a man such as Orochimaru, who prided himself of being able to get a rise out of everyone with the smallest of efforts, excluding Itachi of course.

The man's underlings were currently running throughout the corridors, trying to catch something that would lead them to Uchiha Sasuke.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was lying on his bed as he waited for any news concerning the whereabouts of his next vessel. The man was livid as he was constantly snarling his teeth in anger. The time was drawing near and he needed to switch bodies or else he would die. Sasuke's body was developed enough for Orochimaru's skills and knowledge. The time was so close. He was counting on making the transfer in two days from now. Kabuto was already preparing the medicine. Speaking of the devil, said man had just now entered his master's bedroom.

"Speak to me, Kabuto. Have you found anything about Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto couldn't help but wince at the weak tone in which his master was speaking. Orochimaru's right hand man slowly adjusted his glasses before fixing his gaze on his master's weak form lying on his bed. Considering the past experiences, Kabuto understood that anyone that came here with bad news ended up getting killed by Orochimaru. However in the state he was now in, Kabuto doubted the man could pose the same level of threat. For the medic-nin, it was slightly unnerving to see such a powerful and fierce shinobi being reduced to a pathetic and frail snake.

"Nothing so far, Orochimaru-sama. No clues were found inside his room. His door was locked and yet he managed to open it, somehow, without alerting me." Orochimaru snarled once more, before coughing blood.

"Failure is unacceptable, Kabuto. Find my vessel immediately!" Kabuto nodded, even more unnerved by the lack of hostility in the likes, perhaps, of Orochimaru's sword inches from his neck.

The right hand man nodded, though, and left his master alone in pain. He coughed even more blood and cursed his bad luck that Sasuke went missing just a few days from the transfer.

"It seems you're in a tough situation, Orochimaru." The voice alerted the sannin, before a vortex appeared in front of his bed. The orange spiral mask wasn't familiar, but the outfit surely was. It was just his luck to face an Akatsuki member when he was too weak to defend himself. The man must have read his mind, because he started chuckling at him, daring to mock one of the sannin. "My appearance here before you must have put you on edge, huh? Surely, the news of Uchiha Sasuke escaping from your clutches wasn't the only bad occurrence today." Orochimaru immediately narrowed his eyes at the Akatsuki member. The news of Sasuke's defection couldn't have reached Akatsuki's ears so quickly. Even with a man such as Zetsu amongst their ranks, it would take at least two days from the event for the Leader Pain to be aware of what really happened.

"Who are you and how do you know of Sasuke?" Orochimaru was deeply suspicious of this man. He knew down to a complete certainty that the organization didn't and couldn't know about Sasuke so fast.

_Could it be that he helped Sasuke escape? Not possible, there are a great number of chakra detection seals sprawled all over this base. If he appeared, I would have known immediately. _

"I'm not here to appease your curiosity Orochimaru and my time is too important to waste on low-lives like you. You can rest assured that Sasuke-kun will be taken care of." Tobi crossed his arms for a while, before speaking once more. "I have been lenient with your actions so far, regarding your experiments as well as your actions against the Uchiha Clan. I know everything you did ever since you were born. I also know that if you can't have Sasuke right now, then you'll just choose another body to transfer your soul into. That being said, I'm afraid you overstayed your time on these lands." As soon as Tobi finished talking, Orochimaru realized that his life was being threatened. He immediately went to action, but suddenly found himself unable to. His eyes were widened instantly as he stared at the lone sharingan eye from the stranger. He immediately realized just why he was unable to move.

_Magen Kasegui no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion Shackling Stakes Technique)_

Orochimaru was thus trapped in one of the Uchihas' unbreakable genjutsu. Orochimaru tried as hard as he could to overpower this man's chakra, hoping to disrupt it. However, he couldn't do it right now. He was terribly ill and couldn't mold chakra without damaging his already damaged organs. He couldn't even use the sword hidden inside of him. The Akatsuki member smirked arrogantly at the look of realization in Orochimaru's eye. As he took a lone kunai, he couldn't help but comment.

"Who would have thought that the almighty Orochimaru of the Sannin, once praised as one of the strongest shinobi, would be killed by a lone kunai."

Tobi quickly sliced Orochimaru's jugular with the kunai while maintaining the paralyzing genjutsu. The pain he just caused in Orochimaru would be enough to disrupt the genjutsu, but the Akatsuki member had a great deal of experience with the sharingan and its capabilities. Casting a second layered genjutsu was considered a high level technique for a regular genjutsu master, but for him it was a piece of cake. Such is the power granted by the accursed sharingan. The wound inflicted on Orochimaru was enough to open a blood vessel. The sannin snarled and started coughing blood, even more so than before. He couldn't do anything to stop it. So this is it? After everything he had done, everything he went through to get where he was right now, he would die with a single kunai wound. As he closed his eyes, one last thought invaded his mind as to the identity of his killer. At first, he was pissed to be killed so easily, even if the man had a sharingan. But now that he understood who the man was, Orochimaru couldn't help but show his last evil smirk, before his spirit left his body.

After checking for a while, Tobi let loose a small chuckle from being recognized by the sannin, before vanishing just like he appeared in this room.

One second later, entered Kabuto with bad news only to see the room filled with his master's blood and his master lying on his bed with no life in his eyes. At first, Kabuto was horrified that someone not only managed to infiltrate this hideout unnoticed, but also managed to kill the strongest sannin without even alerting anyone of his presence. Undoubtedly so, whoever did this was powerful and extremely skilled. After a while, though, Kabuto's sick and twisted mind entered into play and he started imagining the possibility of using Orochimaru's body to study. Perhaps he could use the man's blood cells and incorporate them into his own. Quickly closing the door behind him, the room was suddenly dark as Kabuto started sealing Orochimaru's body in a scroll, before anyone could catch him doing. Meanwhile, the glass wearing man was laughing like a hyena while doing so.

After almost thirty years plotting the destruction of Konoha and becoming the ultimate being. In only one day, Orochimaru had lost the sharingan, Sasuke's body for his transfer as well as his life.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

By the time the sun rose the next day, Naruto and Yuugao had already passed the gates of Sunagakure and left towards Konoha.

They were by no means in a hurry to return to Konoha, but that didn't mean that they could kick back and relax. Both were considered of high value to the village, Yuugao as an Anbu captain and Naruto as one of the village's strongest chunnin and jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Naruto, being a jinchuuriki, showed that the more time he stayed away from the village, the more possibility there was of Akatsuki appearing in more number and capture him. As usual, the heat was unbearable, but being accustomed to it, neither complained much. Well, Naruto did, but it was more like whining to Yuugao as it was clear to her that his speed wasn't altered much because of it.

Yesterday night, Naruto was summoned by the Kazekage. According to Gaara, his council approved the alliance and he had already sent a letter to Tsunade with the approval. On the way back to the hidden village in the leaves, Naruto was wondering if Suna's Council was the same as the one held in Konoha. He knew from the Hokage that every time she needed to pass something with the council it ended up being a pain in the ass to deal with. He wondered if the same happened with Gaara. Kumo and Suna didn't share a dark past like Iwa had with Suna and Konoha. Therefore, Naruto presumed that convincing the council of Suna wouldn't be too hard. Still, he kept his thoughts. His main concern was if Gaara, being a jinchuuriki and treated badly in the past, managed to get everyone's acceptance. He didn't know, though, that the one who chose Gaara as the Kazekage was the council itself.

The couple managed to cross the border between Fire and Wind Country, before stopping for a small break.

They were at a small clearing located in between the desert (Wind Country) and small vegetation (Fire Country), followed by a small stream that would lead to a considerably sized river up ahead. It was at this precise moment that Naruto stopped dead and looked in front of him. Yuugao was turned facing her lover, so she wasn't aware of what made her boyfriend act so seriously all of a sudden. As soon as she turned to see what was happening, Yuugao narrowed her eyes as well.

"It's been a long time, Naruto."

The mysterious man said. He was wearing black pants and a large rope belt that was clearly holding a sword on his back. He had a loose long sleeved shirt which hangs open across his chest. Fingerless gloves and black sandals completed the look of the man in front of them. The light obscured his appearance a bit, but the mysterious man's identity was no mystery to either of the Konoha-nin. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes at the moment as in front of him was the very person he least wanted to meet. Right now, they were supposed to return to the village, in order to debrief the Hokage of the successful mission. Naruto just wasn't looking forward into dealing with such a pain at the moment.

"Yes, it has Sasuke. I do wonder what you are doing here. Otogakure is quite far from here." Yuugao was actually thinking amongst the same lines as her attention was focused on the Uchiha.

"I'm not obliged to explain to you anything." A snort could be heard from Naruto followed by a mumble of 'arrogant prick', but the Anbu captain ignored it.

Being the leader of this mission, the choice of what to do was Yuugao's. She was familiar with the _special _situation granted by the Hokage concerning Uchiha Sasuke. Yuugao at the time didn't agree, because anyone who chose to betray the village was immediately labeled a missing-nin. It wasn't her place to argue with the Hokage, but she knew that the woman only granted this, because of Haruno Sakura's feelings of the boy. Naruto, at the time, would have preferred it this way as well, so Yuugao had to also blame him for Sasuke's treatment from the village he betrayed. Quickly assessing the situation, she turned to see Naruto's resolve on the manner. She didn't need to know him to see that Naruto intended to fight against Sasuke. Naruto had turned his eyes briefly to Yuugao.

"How do you want to deal with this?" The woman couldn't help but smirk at the obvious restrain in his part.

"I didn't know you would bother to ask, Naruto." He smirked at the obvious jab, but maintained the question. "We can't walk away, because even if Sasuke isn't a missing-nin, there are still orders to capture him alive and bring him back to the village. I know for a fact that you have never faced an opponent you cannot kill, but you kind of have to in this situation. By your posture, I'm inclined to believe you wish to face him alone, am I right?" Naruto let out a small laugh at being so easily read by his girlfriend, but he could feel that the woman wasn't interested in denying his unspoken request. "I won't step in, unless I see that you're in danger, Naruto." Naruto nodded at her and took a couple steps further to face Sasuke. The Uchiha, for his part, considered the words of both Jiraiya and Orochimaru concerning Naruto. According to Orochimaru, Naruto was able to deal with two Akatsuki members and Jiraiya said that Naruto was stronger than the Uchiha. Naruto was to be Sasuke's first opponent, then.

"I figured you'd want to waste both our times with nonsense about going back to the village." Sasuke had his arms crossed while speaking to Naruto.

"Sorry to disappoint you, teme. Three years ago, I've reached an important conclusion; do you want to hear it?" Sasuke said nothing, but Naruto wasn't counting on it. "You don't care about anyone other than yourself. Three years ago, your intentions were clear as day. You wanted to kill me. There was no cursed seal influencing your mind. After that day, I started seeing you differently. I began to see your true colors as an arrogant, narrow-minded prick who wanted nothing but power handed to you in a silver platter, no matter what the cost would be. So, why should I even consider thinking of bringing you back? Even if I was able to that fateful day, you wouldn't change. The second you spotted a new chance to escape, you would take it." The fact that Naruto's tone haven't altered throughout his explanation, indicated that he meant every word. The old Naruto wouldn't stop screaming at him in a pathetic attempt to convince him of the wrongness behind his actions.

"You've changed. Let's see if you can back that speech up with your fists."

Immediately after speaking, Sasuke vanished from his position and attacked Naruto with his sword. The movement was fast, but Naruto managed to follow and used his bo-staff to parry the attack. If the Uchiha was surprised that Naruto matched his speed, he wasn't showing. The two maintained the weapons clashing for a good while, before Sasuke saw Naruto's weapon staring to glow white. He immediately backed away and swiftly threw a great number of shuriken at Naruto. The entire load of projectile was blocked as Naruto started twirling his staff in front of him very fast. After stopping the last of the shuriken, Naruto charged Sasuke once more with great speed. Even if Sasuke wasn't using his sharingan, he was surprised that Naruto's speed was superior to his own. Naruto used one of his sequence attacks, forcing Sasuke on the defensive. The Uchiha was grinding his teeth in anger while parrying the strikes. He faced a bo-staff before, but this one was different somehow. Naruto attacked from the left with the left side of the staff and twisted his body fast to attack Sasuke from the right, using the other side. Sasuke was hit full force and backed away a bit, before doing hand seals.

_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_

The gigantic fireball charged at Naruto, but he managed to evade it before preparing some projectiles of his own. He threw them at Sasuke, before propelling them with the repusshou (wind palm gale) technique. Using his sword, this time with the sharingan active, Sasuke sliced the projectile in half while looking at the blond with different focus. He didn't feel he needed to use his eyes against Naruto and that thought angered him greatly. Somehow, he believed that Naruto used very little of what he could do so far and that little had forced him to use his doujutsu. Naruto saw the activation and snorted at the prick. Naruto knew that Sasuke would underestimate him. Everyone does at first, apparently.

"I see you started taking me seriously." Naruto was about to continue talking, but stopped once he felt the same thing he felt when he fought Itachi.

_Damn eyes…_

Deactivating the genjutsu casted by Sasuke, Naruto focused wind chakra through his bo-staff and parried Sasuke's attack that would hit if he remained two more seconds inside the genjutsu. Naruto reminded that he was alone in this fight when against Itachi, he had Kakashi to aid him against the Sharingan's doujutsu. It was a blessing that a lot of his ninjutsu required not only mastery over water and wind elements, but also a lot of chakra to use; otherwise he would be reluctant in using jutsu for Sasuke to copy them.

"You still have a long way to go until you match your brother, Sasuke. It took me longer to break his than it took yours." The mention of his brother's name made Sasuke snarl and he charged Naruto once more.

With the sharingan activated, Sasuke's speed appeared higher than Naruto's. However, as Sasuke appeared inches from Naruto's back, he suddenly felt his body become a lot heavier than it should be, diminishing his speed. Naruto parried the sword strike and aimed a kick at Sasuke's chest. The Uchiha caught the movement with his eyes and quickly evaded. When he attempted another strike, like before, he was unable to move as fast as he could when in close proximity, allowing Naruto to parry the strike once more. This time, though, Naruto's following strike was faster. He could see wind chakra being focused on Naruto's fist, but he didn't know why he couldn't move out of the way. Naruto's punch hit the Uchiha dead on and sent him spinning. Not bothering to wait, Naruto threw a couple of shuriken at the still flying Sasuke, before performing hand seals.

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)_

Two shuriken multiplied into twenty and charged Sasuke with the intention of turning him into a pin cushion. Seeing the attack coming his way, Sasuke snarled and summoned a couple snakes who left his sleeves and formed a protective barrier in front of him. The snakes were immediately dispelled, but they managed to stop the attack. Sasuke by then had already recovered from Naruto's attack and was now facing him. He snarled at the blond with a passion for giving this much trouble.

"How are you doing this?" Sasuke screamed, hoping to take Naruto's attention.

"Hm, I'm not obliged to explain anything to you, Sasuke." Naruto was about to move for another attack when he suddenly flinched in pain. The Sasuke in front of him was suddenly transformed into snakes as the real one was behind him with his sword piercing Naruto's back. Before Sasuke could say anything, though, he was surprised when the Naruto he stabbed was transformed into water, showing that Naruto managed to use a mizu kawarimi in time to avoid the attack. Sasuke looked around for a while, before preparing his sword to parry a powerful strike from his left. He was surprised as hell when the blond followed suit with a hug instead of another attack. One look at Naruto with the sharingan was enough to tell him that he needed to escape and immediately.

_Bunshin Daibakuha no Jutsu (Exploding Clone Technique)_

Naruto didn't overwhelm his clone with too much chakra, since he didn't want to create a big explosion that could kill the Uchiha. He needed him alive after all. As the smoke cleared, Naruto was shocked. Half of Sasuke's body remained like before, but the other part was gray and from his shoulder appeared a giant claw that was responsible for protecting him from the explosion. Immediately memories from their first fight came in Naruto's mind. Back then, Sasuke had two of those on his back, but he remembered that Sasuke used them to fly not for protection. So, Sasuke had somehow increased his cursed seal's usage.

Naruto had to smile, though.

"It seems you're taking me more seriously than before, huh Sasuke. Who would have thought that the _dobe_ would force you this much?"

Sasuke's body reverted to normal, before black flames appeared all over his body.

"You're nothing more than an annoying pest, Naruto. It's time I put an end to this nonsense." Sasuke said, before going through hand seals.

_Katon Gouryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique)_

Sasuke exhaled large quantities of considerably sized fireballs with dragon heads at Naruto. Deciding to show Sasuke how outmatched he was against Naruto, the blond rushed through his own series of hand seals.

_Suiton Suiryuukiba no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Fang Technique)_

The Uchiha was surprised that Naruto was using a water based ninjutsu. The blond's water dragon was superior compared to Sasuke's fire ones, first because of the element. Second, while Sasuke focused in number, Naruto focused in size. The water dragon was charging at Sasuke while at the same time extinguishing Sasuke's fire dragons as if he wasn't there. After dealing with the fire dragons, the water dragon went after Sasuke. The Uchiha used his eyes to move from the dragon's path, not at all aware that this attack was slightly different than its brother, the suiryuudan. Sasuke saw the dragon pass by him and he was about to charge Naruto with his cursed seal level one, when he saw the beast's claws coming right at him. Strangely so, the claws started shining. Sasuke, though, believed that he had evaded the attack, but as soon as the paw reached his position, pain was the only thing he felt as the large part of his clothing was ripped to shreds. A big gash was seen on his chest as well.

As Naruto moved for the capture, he suddenly felt a great level of dark chakra overcoming Sasuke. Seconds after, Sasuke was looking at Naruto with something akin to anger.

He was now fully transformed into the cursed seal level two and thus his wounds were healed. He was snarling at Naruto, who in turn looked at his ex-teammate. The time to rely on his own power was over as the second level cursed seal was dangerous three years ago. Now, it was only logical to assume that it was more dangerous. Sasuke was about to lunge at Naruto fully intending to kill him. However, he stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he felt the malevolent red chakra surrounding Naruto. The red aura around the blond reminded Sasuke of his previous fight three years ago. He was surprised, though, when instead of one tail, two tails appeared behind Naruto. The knowledge of Naruto being the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko appeared in Sasuke's mind and he cursed the blond once more. According to Orochimaru, Naruto would never be able to use the Kyuubi's chakra because of its instability.

After Naruto fully transformed, his eyes became similar to the fox and his teeth as well. His voice was altered as well.

"**It seems you mastered your vile chakra Sasuke, congratulations. While I haven't fully mastered mine, the amount I can use is more than enough to deal with you."**

The Uchiha snarled and considered his options right now. He could only think of one attack that could be effective against the jinchuuriki and that was the Chidori. He had no other technique, besides the one he wanted to use on Itachi, which could be used against Naruto. Even the one he intended to Itachi wasn't possible, considering the time needed to perform it. Doing the few hand seals, Sasuke began to focus great amounts of his cursed seal's chakra into the Chidori. First, it was blue, then it transformed into dark lightning as Sasuke looked at Naruto with extreme focus. There was just no way Naruto could dodge this, seeing as he had yet to charge that Rasengan of his. Sasuke lunged at the blond with every speed he could muster and charged at Naruto. As he was inches from Naruto and almost on the verge of piercing the blond's heart, however, Sasuke was surprised when a strong gust of wind started forming around the blond. Sasuke immediately cursed his position, since he couldn't avoid it.

The Chidori had lost its fight against Naruto's wind chakra, which was more powerful because of the fox's chakra. Sasuke's body was receiving multiple wind attacks all over his body.

_Fuuton Suraisu no Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Slicing Tornado Technique)_

The Uchiha's screams were buffered by the force of the wind. His cursed seal was already receded by the time his body hit the ground hard. Sasuke was unconscious upon hitting his head on the ground. Immediately dispelling the fox's chakra, Naruto controlled his breathing for a while, before looking at the downed Uchiha in front of him. Up to this point, Naruto only _said_ that he had forgotten about the Uchiha as a friend and a teammate. With Sasuke, you really couldn't be sure until they exchanged fists with each other. This way, Naruto could see if he had really forgotten Sasuke. As he looked, he couldn't help but snort. It was true. He had felt no sympathy whatsoever for the unconscious Uchiha. Now, he would be taken back to Konoha and dealt with as the traitor he was. As he started walking, Yuugao joined him and placed a hand on his shoulder. A small nod from her was all it took for Naruto. A sudden presence alerted the two, before they turned to Sasuke.

"I see that Sasuke lost…" The type of clothes immediately set the couple on edge.

"Akatsuki" Naruto immediately cursed their appearance. He wasted a great load of chakra fighting Sasuke. Yuugao was immediately by his side, also dreading their presence.

"You're getting stronger Uzumaki Naruto. You'll certainly prove more useful to me than I have anticipated. Relax; I'm not interested in capturing you right now. However, the time will certainly come and you won't able to do anything about it." Tobi said, before vanishing with his vortex with the unconscious Sasuke on his shoulder. The Konoha ninja were surprised to see that the man vanished instantly as if he wasn't even there in the first place. Just who was this new member? Naruto and Yuugao turned and hurried back to Konoha.

What started out as a rather easy C-ranked mission, turned out to be A-ranked, because of the encounter.

* * *

**Author Note**

Wow, a lot of things happened in this chapter.

First, Sasuke escaped Orochimaru, who was then killed by Tobi. Then, Sasuke met with Naruto and they engaged in a fierce battle. In the end, Naruto managed to win by using the fox's chakra. With Suna accepting the alliance made between Kumo and Konoha, Akatsuki now have to confront them all together. Like stated in the joint venture charter, the three villages will form a team of capable fighters in order to aid the jinchuuriki against the organization. So, next chapter, I'll focus on the repercussions from this chapter as well as the alliance. Because of Sasuke and Tobi's actions, it will take some time before everyone knows of Orochimaru's demise and Kabuto's actions.

Furthermore, I invite everyone to check my profile for the last challenge, until now, orphan.

Just to remind you folks that the idea is quite appealing, even for me. If someone doesn't take the challenge, then, chances are that I will take it.

Please review.


	19. TriAlliance's Formation

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

Last chapter, a lot of events took place. Uchiha Sasuke managed to escape from Orochimaru's clutches with the sole intent of seeking powerful opponents to face against and gain experience. Meanwhile, Naruto and Yuugao had just delivered a letter to the Kazekage regarding the alliance between Konoha, Kumo and Sunagakure. Upon leaving the hidden village of Sand, Naruto and Yuugao took their time in returning to the village, they ended up meeting with the old member of Naruto's team. After a fierce battle, going as far as forcing Sasuke to use the cursed seal second level and Naruto to use the fox's chakra, Naruto managed to rise successful. When they attempted to capture the traitorous Uchiha, Tobi appeared and took Sasuke away. Oh I forgot to mention that prior to this; Tobi had appeared in Orochimaru's lair and killed the snake freak. There was no second Orochimaru coming out of Orochimaru's mouth, no snake human figure appearing out of nowhere…the man was dead by a single kunai.

That's the beauty of the world created by Kishimoto (even if the man himself sometimes forgets it).

No matter how powerful one shinobi becomes or how many measures he or she takes to further protect their lives, a small piece of piercing metal is and always will be more than enough to kill anyone.

Now that the tri-alliance is forged, the battle against the Organization will certainly escalate to a full out assault. Oh and before anyone asks, it won't be a fourth great ninja war or anything remotely close to Kishimoto's nonsense. Shinobi being treated like warriors in a full front battlefront, it's just unnatural. Akatsuki consisted of less than ten individuals, so to face them, the other side need to gather a group of high level shinobi to face against them. Wonder who will be picked?

Check it out.

**(FYI: This chapter now is beta revised)**

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Tri-Alliance's Formation**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Senju Tsunade had awakened this morning actually believing today would be a beautiful day. She had every reason to believe so, as the sky was clear of any clouds and the soothing wind was able to keep the village cooled despite the excessive heat that bombarded Konoha this fine morning. On the way to her office, people stopped her to compliment her on her duties as Hokage. Overall, it would certainly be a nice day, a relaxing one in these troubled times, because of the threat generated by Akatsuki. Nothing could ever take away her happiness. That was before entering in her office and seeing that Naruto and Yuugao had returned from their C-ranked mission on Sunagakure.

Just by seeing the brat, she immediately became aware that while Naruto was alive and breathing, he would always give her a headache. After hearing the report, Tsunade shouldn't have been surprised.

"So let me get this straight…" The pause to rub her forehead in a pathetic attempt to ease the painful headache was quite amusing. "You two left Konoha to Sunagakure for a simple C-ranked mission. After delivering the scroll and receiving word of the Suna Council's approval of the alliance, you two came back to Konoha, only to conveniently, I might add, bump into Uchiha Sasuke, who had escaped from Orochimaru's clutches and decided to engage in a fierce battle involving cursed seals and the fox's chakra." Naruto and Yuugao nodded, allowing the Hokage more time to process the rest of the mission. "After Naruto was victorious, an Akatsuki member came and took Sasuke away before either of you could capture him." The chunnin and Anbu captain on vacation nodded again, before waiting as the Hokage finished rubbing her forehead for a while.

She then lifted her head to see the chunnin she grew so fond of. There were indeed times when Tsunade wondered how her sensei managed to handle the boy.

"Let me ask you something, Naruto and I hope you can give me a straight answer, because I'm pretty much baffled at this point." Naruto was surprised and a little scared of the woman in front of him. She still hadn't stopped massaging her forehead. "How is it that every time you're assigned a C-ranked mission, something terribly bad happens that raises the mission specs to at least A-ranked? I wonder if you are the one who looks for trouble or trouble somehow seeks you." Yuugao and pretty much all hidden Anbu present in the Hokage's Office would have laughed their asses off at the question if none of them knew how pissed off their leader could be when she started rubbing her forehead like that. Naruto, for his turn, couldn't help but offer an innocent smile at his Hokage. However, now that Tsunade raised a valid topic, Naruto began to wonder what the deal was here.

"Pretty sure that trouble is the one after me. You know that I wouldn't go after Sasuke." Tsunade sighed once more and looked at the two shinobi.

"Yes, I do know. The good thing is that neither of you are hurt. The alliance was accepted by Suna, so both the Kazekage and the Raikage will be arriving here in one week, as per the agreement. There will be no more missions assigned to you Naruto, seeing as you will take part in the meeting. I will be calling Sakura and Kakashi here to inform them of the latest developments concerning Sasuke. Despite the severe headache you caused me, I'd say you did one hell of a job putting that brat in his place." Naruto simply nodded, before Tsunade turned to her. "Yuugao, you are to report tomorrow to your Anbu team." The woman nodded, before both were dismissed for the time being, leaving Tsunade alone to ponder on things.

"I guess Sasuke wasn't that keen on Orochimaru taking his body huh; a slight miscalculation in your plans, hime." The back wall of the office suddenly shimmered and Jiraiya appeared with a serious visage.

"At least we are confident that our teammate won't be able to get his hands on Sasuke now that Akatsuki has him. In any case, I must prepare for when the Kages arrive here in a week."

Jiraiya nodded and was about to leave, when he remembered something about the snake sannin.

"One last thing before I leave, there has been some rumors behind Sasuke's disappearance from Orochimaru's clutches. Though I hardly believe those to be true, I believe it's high time we took our time to assess its veracity." Tsunade stopped her paperwork and looked at the pervert with a keen eye. Today really wasn't a good day and her gut feeling told that it was about to become even worse. Upon ushering the pervert about the content of the rumors, she was surprised when the man's eyes had lost their focus for a brief moment, indicating something akin to grief. "Words out there are that while Sasuke escaped, someone invaded Orochimaru's room and killed him." Tsunade's eyes widened as she processed the rumor. "I still remain skeptical about it seeing how far that snake goes to protect himself from both human and nature attacks. However, I'll look into it and let you know if it's really true."

Tsunade nodded; even though she was still busy processing everything. Who would be powerful enough to slip inside Orochimaru's lair and kill him so efficiently?

As the woman issued Sakura and Kakashi for a meeting, Tsunade began to ponder on the possibility of someone like Orochimaru, an S-ranked shinobi, be killed without a huge and destructive battle behind it. Perhaps it was her instincts kicking, but she couldn't help but shake off the possibility that perhaps Orochimaru's demise was linked to what happened in Naruto and Yuugao's altercation with Sasuke and the mysterious Akatsuki agent. Another question that now plagued the woman Hokage's mind was what Akatsuki could possibly want with Sasuke? As far as she was aware, they already have a pair of sharingan in Itachi. Tsunade stopped her inner monologue when she heard Sakura entering her office. Kakashi no doubt was already waiting behind the window for his student to arrive. As soon as both jounin and chunnin were lined up in front of the Hokage, the woman released a sigh and began to explain about what happened.

"Kakashi, Sakura, I called you both here because of certain events that occurred with Uchiha Sasuke." Both members of Team Seven narrowed their eyes as Tsunade began to report everything.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After leaving their leader's office, Naruto and Yuugao were casually walking amongst the streets of the village. Neither of them appeared in the mood for much, considering what happened on the way back from Sunagakure. Yuugao wanted nothing more than a nice shower and to enjoy a quiet round of sake inside her home. When the Akatsuki appeared, the woman feared that they would take advantage of Naruto's fight and attempt to capture him. When the man left with Sasuke, the woman released her breath. She didn't even know that she was holding it. Turning to her boyfriend, his appearance appeared casual, almost aloof to the situation they had just walked away from. She could see in his eyes, though, that he was considering the situation carefully. It was clear that both needed to do something to shake their minds away from the outside world.

"Naruto, I think I'll head home and rest a bit. What about you?" The blond smiled tiredly at that.

"I think I'll head to Ichiraku's and have my usual ramen, but some relax and relaxation is a good idea. Meet at your house in about an hour?" His question was met with a gentle kiss on his right cheek, before Yuugao left in a shunshin. It took close to ten minutes, before the blond chunnin began his usual ritual of ramen worshipping. Before that, he had apologized to both Teuchi and Ayame for not coming more often. Ayame only smiled at the boy, but her father kept his angry façade, before relenting and making another sequence of ramen bowls for their favorite customer. Half an hour later and with a full stomach, Naruto left the ramen stand and headed towards Yuugao's apartment where he guessed the woman would be waiting with a bottle of sake.

* * *

**===At Tsunade's Office===**

By the time the Hokage finished reporting what happened, she waited to see their reaction regarding Sasuke. It was indeed a lot to take in, so Tsunade just waited. She could see the look of regret in Kakashi's face, despite the man's ability of concealing his emotions to others. She could also see the look of hurt in Sakura's. Honestly, Tsunade wished the girl would let go of her academy crush. It just wasn't natural. The extent of their relationship was that of mere comrades. Five seconds later, Kakashi's look was transformed into apparent boredom like he usually did. It was how the man coped, after all. No doubt, he will leave the office and head to the memorial stone afterward. Sakura took longer to recuperate, before looking at her mentor.

"So what will we do, Hokage-sama? About Sasuke I mean?"

Tsunade was already expecting said question and answered with a sigh, already expecting the backlash.

"Nothing…" She didn't need to look up to see that Sakura was looking her incredulously. "It is one thing when Sasuke was under Orochimaru's command, but now Akatsuki has him. They could be anywhere in the entire elemental nations. Even if we utilized our entire ninja force just to search for him, which we won't, we wouldn't be able to cover everywhere." Looking up and matching her student's fierce gaze, Tsunade finished her statement. "You know this, Sakura." Sakura was considered by her mentor an outstanding medic-nin and leveled minded in most situations, but when Uchiha Sasuke was concerned, it seemed as if Sakura simply reverted to her academy days and worshiped the Uchiha. The chunnin bluntly asked to be dismissed and left the room, leaving Tsunade and Kakashi alone to converse.

"As to you Kakashi, I'll give a simple word of advice. Sarutobi-sensei had the same look on his face when Orochimaru was mentioned. It wasn't anyone's fault, but Sasuke's. Now. Kakashi, in one week's time, both the Raikage and the Kazekage will arrive in order to discuss our alliance towards the elimination of the Akatsuki. As one of Konoha's elite jounin as well as Naruto's sensei, you will be participating. Just to let you know. You are dismissed." Kakashi nodded and turned to leave towards the door, before he turned and addressed the Hokage about some misconception behind her words earlier. She noticed his mood changing rapidly.

"Like Orochimaru was for Sandaime-sama, Sasuke is my responsibility, Tsunade-sama. You'd feel the same burden had Shizune betrayed Konoha."

Not waiting to hear a reply, Kakashi left in a shunshin, leaving Tsunade alone to ponder on the words spoken by the elite jounin. Bonds formed between master and student were hard to break and indeed when a student defects, the master bore with the consequence. However, while Orochimaru was like a son to Sarutobi-sensei, Sasuke and Kakashi were student and master for little more than a year perhaps even less. Shizune has been her apprentice for twenty years. Of course, if she betrayed the village, it would be her responsibility. Perhaps, Kakashi was thinking of someone else when he mentioned Sasuke. She had known Kakashi's teammate Uchiha Obito, since they were a part of the Yondaime Hokage's genin team. She knew of the incident regarding Obito's death and the how Kakashi's life deteriorated since then. It was a shame really that he couldn't let go of the past.

But, then again, who was Tsunade to say anything about that.e stopped however by the door and turned slightly to the Hokage.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

After taking Uchiha Sasuke back to his hidden base of operations, the Akatsuki agent placed the Young Uchiha's body on a wooden table as he proceeded to analyze the changes done to Sasuke by Orochimaru. Tobi was no alien to the experiments conducted by the snake in order to maximize a shinobi's strength, speed, chakra capacity amongst other aspects. After a quick inspection, it was clear that whatever Orochimaru had done to Sasuke wasn't visible. His body muscle was perfectly natural. With his sharingan, Tobi could detect a great pool of chakra in Sasuke's, meaning that Orochimaru wanted his next body to have a vast wealth of energy at his disposal. Enhancement drugs were obvious uses, so Tobi discarded it. He was however immensely surprised to see a strange seal located on the Uchiha's chest and it was glowing when Tobi focused chakra nearby.

The man was even more surprised when a toxin was released from the seal, forcing Tobi to quickly summon his battle fan and force the toxin out of the cave.

It was clear that the seal wasn't the snake's doing. Certainly, if Orochimaru was planning on taking over Sasuke's body, then he wouldn't place a seal that released such a dangerous toxin. He would be dead instantly. Someone was really concerned that Orochimaru might take over the sharingan and took measures to prevent such a possibility. Immediately, Konoha came to mind. Tobi knew of a man inside the village's forces that could very well be capable of such schemes. Shimura Danzou was the leader of a dark branch in the Anbu forces and hidden mastermind behind many of the dark steps taken by the hidden village in the leaves. However, after much consideration, Tobi ruled Danzou out of the equation. While it could very well be his doing, Tobi knew the deal made between Danzou and Itachi before the day he massacred the Uchiha Clan. If Danzou lifted a finger against Sasuke, Itachi would come out and reveal the truth. No, Danzou wasn't the author of the seal.

Besides Konoha, Tobi couldn't think of any village who knew about Orochimaru and Sasuke. Another question that plagued Tobi's mind was how Orochimaru failed to see such a seal in his vessel?

That meant that the caster was at least a master in the art of sealing and coming from Konoha, Tobi's mind immediately went to the Yondaime Hokage and his expertise in using fuuinjutsu in close combat. Since the man was dead, Tobi moved on to either the Yondaime's master or his student Kakashi. As sensei of Uchiha Sasuke, Kakashi could very well be the one behind this, but as skilled as the son of Sakumo was, he was no match for Orochimaru. Jiraiya, on the other hand, was as skilled as the snake and also considered a master in the art of sealing. A very interesting approach taken by the Gama Sannin, Tobi mused. Quite possibly the Godaime Hokage was aware if not even responsible for the powerful toxin's creation. Tobi let out an amused laughter as he waited for Uchiha Sasuke to awaken from unconsciousness. While doing so, Tobi's mind returned to Sasuke and Naruto's fight yesterday.

As usual, the boy surprised Tobi. He had already known Naruto to be skilled as he was the one that defeated Deidara and Sasori. However, the amount of the fox's chakra used by Naruto against Sasuke was unheard of until now. Tobi knew of the fox chakra's toxic nature as well as the fact that every time that Naruto attempted to use it, his judgment became clouded. While Tobi wished for Sasuke's defeat at Naruto's hands, he reasoned that Naruto's meteoric increase of skill was something to worry about in the future. He noticed that Sasuke was stirring from the table and moved closer to the younger Uchiha. The sooner Sasuke saw Tobi's outfit, he will make the connection and demand answers.

Uchiha Sasuke, for his part, slowly opened his eyes as he saw the cave's ceiling. He was immediately startled as the last memory he had was fighting against the dobe and _losing. _It was infuriating how Naruto was able to counter his every move. Everything Sasuke tried Naruto had something to counter. Now he didn't know if he was in Konoha or not. If Naruto managed to defeat him, then he and that woman next to him would no doubt take him back to the village.

"So you are awake?" The voice startled the young Uchiha as he turned and saw a man with orange mask. Like Tobi expected, Sasuke's eyes glanced his outfit briefly.

"Who are you and where am I?"

"Who am I is a rather complicated question and I don't feel like answering it right now. As to where you are, let's just say inside a cave somewhere in Fire Country." Sasuke snarled at the introduction, before feeling the pain in his muscles courtesy of a certain Konoha chunnin. "That was quite a beating you received yesterday, Sasuke-kun. If it weren't for me taking you away, right now you'd be waking up in Konoha. Be glad that I have use for you; otherwise you'd find yourself in the comfort of Konoha's finest interrogators. " Tobi snorted in amusement as Sasuke snarled once more. He crossed his arms and casually took a seat on top of a medium sized wooden box. "Now that you've settled down somewhat, I'd like to get to know Itachi-kun's younger brother." As expected, Sasuke's eyes were ablaze in fury. His eyes, if possible, were burning the strange man's outfit, the same one that his curse of a brother wore.

"You will tell me where Itachi is and you will tell me right now." Sasuke even activated his sharingan and added killing intent, the likes of which Tobi remembered from Orochimaru.

"It seems you believe yourself to be in a position where you can demand anything. How amusing. Itachi did say you lacked proper manners." Tobi ignored Sasuke's angry outburst and cleared his throat a bit. "Instead of telling you where Itachi is, no matter how much I really want to do that believe me, I'll tell you what I believe you would like to ask Itachi himself. Aren't you curious, Sasuke-kun? Aren't you curious to know the reason Itachi killed your entire clan?" Tobi could practically see the machinations in Sasuke's brain working to process everything. "Before you naively say that he did everything just to test his skills, I will explain you the truth about Itachi's actions. It would be nice to know that Itachi had other reasons, right? That he wasn't the ruthless killer you always thought he was." If it was one thing Tobi most enjoyed was to mess with people's minds. He loved seeing the confused expressions on the victim's face.

"How would you know about what happened and why would you tell me?" Tobi smirked behind his mask. So the Uchiha had some brains after all. It would be too easy if he didn't.

"First of all, he told me and as to why I would tell you, it's because I feel like it. If you don't believe me, then you can use your sharingan. You can tell when a person is lying, can't you? Trust me, Sasuke-kun, I do not have any reason to lie to you. I merely wish to impress upon you the actual truth of what happened. After that, you can do whatever you want. If you still want to kill him, I'll tell you where he is." Sasuke looked at the man for a while, before briefly nodding. Tobi smirked. The boy was curious about it and Tobi wouldn't even think of omitting anything. With that, he began to explain everything to Sasuke about the truth behind the event known as the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

_**(Author Note: I won't bother writing the event. It's the same as canon)**_

As Tobi explained the actual truth of what happened back then, Sasuke's red sharingan eyes were widening considerably. It was practically mandatory for a shinobi to doubt information coming from an unknown source, no matter how factual it seemed. If there was one time that the young Uchiha cursed the existence of the sharingan it was now. He wanted desperately not to believe any word this stranger in front of him was saying. However, while the accursed doujutsu was the clan's pride, now Sasuke would give anything not to have it, because he couldn't see any deceit coming from the man's words. If the sharingan hadn't spotted deceit, then it was the truth. Uchiha Itachi, the man Sasuke despised more than anything and also whose existence Sasuke was dedicated to erase, massacred the entire Uchiha Clan, under orders from the higher-ups of Konoha.

It was simply inconceivable. Tobi could see that Sasuke was still in denial; hence his plan was not done yet.

"Uchiha Itachi loved his village, clearly more than the clan. So he acted as a double agent for the Hokage in order to prevent a bloody civil war that was sure to occur had it not been for Itachi's actions. Thus, he was forced by the hidden village in the leaves to massacre his own family in order to save the entire village. After he acted in the village's name, he has become a missing-nin, hunted for doing nothing but following the Hokage's orders." By now, Sasuke's body was trembling. His mind was a mess trying to process the information of Itachi - the Uchiha Itachi, his brother, the one who killed his entire family just to test his capabilities – was actually forced to do this. Sasuke didn't even register two waterfalls falling without restrictions from his eyes. Suddenly, all repressed memories of that fateful day appeared and Sasuke remembered that after Itachi stated the reasons for doing what he did, Sasuke went after Itachi throwing kunai at him screaming bloody murder.

When Itachi merely deflected the kunai with his ninjato, Sasuke could see that Itachi was crying on that night.

Now that the young Uchiha knew of what really happened, that Itachi did what he did under specific orders, he wondered how his older brother must have felt that day. It was the first and last time that Sasuke saw his older brother shed tears like that. By now, Sasuke was crying uncontrollably and his body was shaking. So unaware was the Uchiha of his own reflection that he haven't notice the different design in his sharingan much to Tobi's silent amusement.

* * *

**===One week later===**

When the sun rose in Konoha, the village was in a buzz as shinobi were seen on the rooftops running left and right, north and south, in order to ensure that everything was in order for today's events. In a couple of hours, both the current Kazekage and the current Raikage would step inside the hidden village in the leaves followed by their bodyguards as well as their choices for the group that will be tasked with facing the Akatsuki and defeating them once and for all. However, despite such an unprecedented event consisted of Kumogakure aligning with Konoha, Tsunade wouldn't be the Godaime Hokage if her village was caught by surprise by Kumogakure, using this alliance in order to invade the village. Doing so otherwise would be a complete disregard to the events in the past and Tsunade was far too experienced to believe in simple messages.

If the alliance was legit, then the Raikage wouldn't feel something is amiss with the heavy security. The man respected strength above all else.

The village prepared a very beautiful, if not heavily oppressive, room for the meeting to take place. It was located at the sublevel of the Hokage's Administrative Building and it was designed for meetings held by Konoha and dignitaries from all over the elemental nations. The walls were made with special dark wood extracted from the lands where the Senju Compound was located. The floor was one hundred percent marble and was supporting a nice round mahogany made table with enough seats for the Kages. Normally, the room could support a much bigger table, however the situation didn't call for it. The bodyguards needed to be close to their leader, but far away from the other kages, just in case one wanted to act rashly because of a grudge. Tsunade wasn't worried, though, because the room was packed with chakra suppression seals as well as filled with Anbu personnel in the next door just in case. She took one of the seats available and remained there with her eyes closed and arms crossed as she waited for her fellow kages to arrive. Directly behind her, were Jiraiya, Gai, Kakashi, Nara Shikaku and the village's jinchuuriki, Naruto.

Kakashi was busy reading his little orange book while ignoring Gai's relentless attempt of settling their battle score with a game of rock paper or scissors. Shikaku was called in the meeting to be the strategist, but right now he was busy sleeping. Jiraiya, for his part, was observing his apprentice's unusual behavior. Surely the blond wasn't as hyperactive as he was before the training trip, but the last time he has seen Naruto like this was at the beginning of the training trip when Naruto was blaming himself for not being able to stop Uchiha Sasuke from fleeing the village. Quickly approaching the blond, Jiraiya landed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, making the chunnin look at his teacher with a perplexed expression on his face. Jiraiya was smirking.

"Is everything alright there kiddo?" Naruto took a couple of seconds to answer, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, just that I don't think I should be here. This meeting involves kages and elite jounin only; I'm a chunnin." Jiraiya frowned at that but smirked once more.

"Just a chunnin you may be, but you were not only able to defeat two Akatsuki members, but also managed to win against the Hachibi Jinchuuriki, who was rumored to be the perfect jinchuuriki by fully mastering his bijuu." Naruto still remained contemplative despite hearing his achievements. "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Naruto. Besides, this meeting isn't limited to rank, but one's strength and skill to face an S-ranked criminal. Without the Kyuubi's chakra, you are considered A-ranked already." Naruto nodded at the man with a smile on his face, despite knowing that the only reason he had managed to defeat Kirabi was because the man severely underestimated him. However, he was completely caught by surprise when Jiraiya resumed the conversation. "When the meeting is over, meet me at the top of this building. I believe it's time for you to learn how to fully use the fox's chakra." At this, everyone in the room stopped and looked at the conversation.

Tsunade merely smirked at this, since she and pervert had already discussed this prior to the meeting. If Naruto wished to face S-ranked criminals, he would need to be stronger than he was already.

"What do you mean fully use the fox's chakra? I thought I was already doing so progressively."

By now, Naruto could use full three tails worth of chakra without losing his mind. Jiraiya, though, smirked and placed another hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"The seal crafted by the Yondaime Hokage indeed allows the fox's chakra to mingle with your own over time increasing your chakra capacity and your chakra coils. However, what is inside you right now is merely half of the fox's chakra." Like he expected, the blond's eyes almost left its sockets, but he continued. "The other half is safely guarded by a complex seal also designed by the Yondaime. He entrusted it to me and the toads to keep until it was time for you to fully use it. Trust me, when we're done, there won't be much in this world that will be able to face you." Everyone in the room was smiling at the blond chunnin as he nodded at Jiraiya with a smile on his face.

* * *

**===Konoha's Gates===**

At this exact time, nine individuals were seen crossing the huge gates of Konohagakure. Full squads of Anbu were watching their every move from the shadows, just in case anyone tries anything. The faces they recognized were both from the Raikage and the Kazekage as they walked side by side. Behind the Raikage, the Anbu personnel immediately recognized Kumo's two jinchuuriki Nii Yugito and Kirabi. If these two so wished to release their beasts in the middle of the village, they could cause a great load of damage instantly. Close by them, two more Kumo-nins were seen. The first one had dark skin and had white hair like the Raikage. He was using a white jounin vest and loose back pants. He carried a bored expression similar to Kakashi's. The most experienced Anbu managed to distinguish a very peculiar tattoo on his left shoulder, that once belonged to the Sandaime Raikage, meaning that the man knew how to use the previous Kage's black lightning techniques.

The second and last Kumo-nin of the group was a kunoichi. She had the same style of black pants but her jounin vest was red instead of white. The male Anbu immediately felt the need to whistle at her nice figure followed by her beautiful and long red hair that was easily reaching her legs. It was hard to see because of the long hair, but they could see the two scabbards strapped on her back. All in all, besides the Yondaime Raikage, Kumo had brought two jinchuuriki and two elite jounin. These group alone could provide Konoha one nasty headache. The Kazekage's group was by no means less impressive as Gaara, the Kazekage, was also a jinchuuriki. They also recognized Suna's elite jounin Baki, one of the involved in the Suna-Sound invasion that occurred four years ago. Behind Baki, two more Suna-nin followed. One of them was a kunoichi, beautiful as well, with long black hair. She wore a black kimono strapped by a red bow. Strapped on her back, were two medium sized metal made battle fans.

By her side, was a man that was entirely covered by a large sand color robe from head to toe. Because of his choice in outfit, none of the Anbu personnel managed to get a good look on the guy.

The two groups stopped soon in front of a platoon of nine Anbu with Yamato being the leader.

"Greetings Kazekage-dono, Raikage-dono; I'll be responsible for taking you where Hokage-sama is waiting. Please follow me." Both kages nodded and briefly looked at the squads of Anbu following them from the roof, blending in the shadows. Gaara wasn't fazed by this, since he knew that it was mostly because of Kumo's presence inside the hidden village in the leaves. The Raikage, though, only smirked. It was only prudent, in his opinion. The man would be disappointed if the Hokage simply took his word for it and not be prepared for surprises. Konoha hadn't earned its reputation in the past as strongest of the hidden villages out of luck after all. As they passed, the citizens were giving them weary looks. It took a total of ten minutes for everyone to reach the place of destination, the Hokage's Office Building.

As soon as Yamato opened the door to the meeting, the ones inside the room turned their heads towards the new arrivals and quickly greeted them. Naruto quickly nodded towards his fellow jinchuuriki, being the only ones of the group that he knew so far. Each group settled to one of the two available seats in the table. The Kages placed their respective hats on top of the table, before taking a seat. The bodyguards took place behind their respective leaders.

"Greetings Kazekage-dono, Raikage-dono. Welcome to Konohagakure." Both leaders nodded. The Raikage cleared his throat, calling all the attention in the room.

"Greetings Hokage-dono; since Kumo was the one who proposed this alliance, I feel it's best if I begin. First of all, I'd like to extend an appreciation towards Konoha for bringing forward the information about the Akatsuki. Despite being humiliated that my stupid brother lost to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki because of his idiocy, if it wasn't for your presence, Yugito would be captured by them. I'd never imagine seeing Kakuzu from Waterfall." Tsunade nodded, clearly satisfied knowing that when Kakashi came with the information, the Raikage, acted all proudly, refused at first. Even if it wasn't Konoha's intention, their assignment managed to indirectly save Yugito, the Nibi Jinchuuriki who was standing behind the Raikage. "Now, as I recalled from the alliance proposal, each Kage were to choose four elite shinobi to form a specialized group against the Akatsuki. With that being said, I'd like to begin by presenting you the ones I've chosen."

"Before you proceed, Raikage-dono, allow me to introduce Konoha's chief of strategy, Nara Shikaku. He will be here to aid us in how to deal with the organization." The Raikage nodded at the grown Shikamaru like.

"Nara Shikaku, member of Konoha's famous Ino-Shika-Cho formation and one great pain in the ass to deal with." Shikaku merely smirked at the compliment.

"It's an honor to be here, Kazekage-dono, Raikage-dono and Hokage-dono."

With that out of the way, the Raikage began announcing his group of four indications.

"First one of the group is named Darui, one of my elite jounin, master of water and lightning techniques. He possesses the _**Ranton**_ (Storm Release) kekkei genkai, thus able to mix water and lightning techniques into one. Besides that, he is a sword fighter." After his presentation, the elite jounin in question stepped forward and bowed in respect to the other present. Naruto saw the bored expression on this man's face and couldn't help but see his jounin sensei Kakashi. They both looked like they would fall asleep any time now. At least, with Shikamaru was different. He was asleep on occasions. He saw Shikaku busy studying Darui's info brought by the Raikage, while doing cross-references with the ones he already had of the ninjas from Konoha. Shikaku's job right now was to form three groups of four and elect the leader of the alliance.

"Second one of the group and last of the non-jinchuuriki is Nii Yougan, elite jounin and Yugito's older sister. Also a swordswoman like Darui and master of fire and earth techniques, she also possesses an elemental kekkei genkai called _**Youton**_ (Lava Release)." After introducing yet another kekkei genkai, the people in the room figured that the man enjoyed flaunting about the shinobi of his village. Naruto, though, was interested in seeing if he would be able to mix his elements wind and water. "I'll spare the need for introducing both Yugito and Kirabi, because of their known abilities." Naruto could have sworn the man looked at him for a second there but kept quiet about it. Shikaku had already received the files of the jinchuuriki based on Konoha's own information, hence he didn't need introductions. The Hachibi Jinchuuriki looked like he wanted to give his own introduction, but one look from the Raikage convinced him otherwise.

Seeing as the Raikage's introduction was finished, Gaara cleared his throat and started with the ones he brought to form the group.

"From Suna, I've chosen my sensei Baki, who I believe Konoha's file has enough info for me to waste valuable time introducing. Behind Baki, these are Kazetakai and Jyuukaze, both elite jounins of Sunagakure." Before Gaara could continue, the atmosphere in the room shifted and everyone turned to look at the pissed off Raikage. He was looking at Kazetakai with enough hatred that people were beginning to get anxious. Said man, though, just turned and smirked at the man. His face showed some wrinkles. He had short black hair which was barely hidden beneath the turban. His eyes were closed as he nodded towards the Raikage. "Is there something wrong, Raikage-dono?" A snarled once more and addressed the Kazekage, this time more controlled.

"I thought I killed him in the last great shinobi war." Kazetakai slowly began to laugh in amusement, further irritating the Raikage.

"At the time, I made you believe you killed me, Raikage-dono. My platoon was retreating, so I need to as well. I used a subtle genjutsu at the time making you believe you had killed me. It was war time so you didn't stick around to verify the kill." The look on the Raikage's face indicated that he wasn't thrilled about knowing about this development. This man before him was one of Suna's most dangerous shinobi in the war and at the time, A remembered him using those damn wind oriented genjutsu that sounded and appeared so realistic. Indeed, the Kazekage wasn't pulling any punches here. The Raiakge subtly looked at the kunoichi next to his mortal enemy and frowned. Indeed, Gaara wasn't pulling any punches, not against Akatsuki. The Raikage smirked at this and was really excited to see what this group is capable of. He had no doubt that Konoha would provide excellent candidates if the one's in the room is any indication.

Seeing that the situation was normal, Gaara continued.

"Kazetakai is one of Suna's elite jounin, master of wind and earth ninjutsu. He is a master of the Kusari-gama and so far no one has ever reached his level of expertise in my village. He also is a master of genjutsu like he so explained when engaging Raikage-dono in battle once. Next to him is Jyuukaze, also elite jounin and the strongest fan user in Sunagakure. As you might know, she is a master of wind techniques. She is also very proficient in the art of taijutsu." Upon hearing this, Maito Gai smirked which wasn't unnoticed by Kakashi who sighed in dismay. Shikaku received the paperwork and moved to a different pile as he now had the rest of information needed to sort out the groups. He already had the information of the Konoha shinobi, so he was now focused on the task ahead while Tsunade began introducing her chosen ones.

_**(Author Note: I'm not going to waste time introducing the Konoha-nins, because all of you know about Kakashi, Gai and Jiraiya).**_

After introducing the group formation, the Kage moved on to information about the enemy organization and known weaknesses. Shikaku wasn't focused on the discussion as he was busy processing the information of the chosen ones and how to create three cohesive units under one leadership. He already had three known leaders for each group. The Kazekage, being a jinchuuriki and a kage, was the first group's leader. Darui would be leader of group number two and Jiraiya was the leader of the third and last group. At first, he wanted to place at least one jinchuuriki per team, but he had four jinchuuriki and three teams, so it wouldn't be possible. Starting with Gaara's group, Shikaku chose a close-range fighter first since Gaara is a long-range fighter using his sand. Nii Yougan, being a close-ranged kenjutsu fighter, would complement Gaara nicely. She was also extremely ninjutsu capable, so she could move to mid-range as well. Next, he needed a mid-range fighter with knowledge of genjutsu in order to act both as support and front lines if necessary. Hatake Kakashi was a fine choice. He was considered a jack of all trades and should be able to assist the entire team. The last member of the team, Shikaku sighed, had to be Yugito; for reasons not related to a wrong assumption of the woman's skills, but the fact that one of the team needed two jinchuuriki.

Next was Jiraiya's team.

Shikaku knew that the pervert wouldn't have it if his student wasn't on his team, so Naruto was the first and obvious choice. The chunnin, despite being the youngest of the group, thus the least experienced, was a force not to be trifled with. Naruto was considered both close and mid-range fighter with excellent knowledge in wind and water techniques, not to mention his bojutsu and vast chakra reserves (Kyuubi included). Kazetakai would fit in nicely with his genjutsu techniques. He would act both as support and front lines like Kakashi in the first group. The only element missing in the second group was long-range support and Jyuukaze was the obvious choice with her fan wind techniques. She was able to produce mass long-range wind techniques with those. Also, being a master of taijutsu, she could shift to close-range and aid anyone, a powerful ability and also very rare in the shinobi world.

The third group would be filled with the last four that weren't chosen so far; Darui, Baki, Kirabi and Gai with Darui being the leader. Kirabi and Gai were close-range with Baki supporting with mid-range ninjutsu. Darui was considered an elite jounin of Kumogakure and one of the more skilled shinobi there next to the Raikage himself and the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. Kumo actually considered him better than the Nibi Jinchuuriki, because of his kekkei genkai and his ninjutsu knowledge passed on by the Sandaime Raikage. With the teams formed, Shikaku cleared his throat and looked up to which Tsunade smirked. Only Shikaku was able to formulate a plan in such little time. After the announcement of the teams and his reason behind it, a heavy silence ruled the room as both the Kazekage and the Raikage kept looking at Shikaku who was matching their stare with a bored expression. He was already tired of shocking everyone with how fast he was able to gather information and draw a suitable conclusion.

"No wonder we could not take down the Leaf. You are blessed with fine shinobi, Tsunade." Tsunade nodded.

"With the groups formed, they will have a week to familiarize with one another. In two days, we'll begin the training exercises. Now I've prepared rooms for all of you to stay in Konoha for the duration of the training exercises." With everything cleared up, the Kazekage and the Raikage's group were directed by the Anbu to where they would be staying for the week. Jiraiya and Naruto had already left the room together towards their intended objective. They had two days off after all, so Jiraiya planned to have it done by then. If Naruto was strong now, after doing what he and the Yondaime intended, the boy will be unstoppable.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

Standing in front of a cliff, facing the ocean in front of him, Sasuke was busy contemplating the change of events. He had a slight change of outfit, opting for short sleeves for his white kimono. His mind was entirely focused on his brother's stoic visage and the words he had spoken to Sasuke so as to hide the actual truth. Itachi not only had to kill his entire clan because of Konoha, but also took the blame for it, becoming a missing-nin. In his mind, Konoha not only betrayed his clan but also betrayed Itachi by hiding the truth and declaring Sasuke's brother as a missing-nin. As Tobi intended, Sasuke's thirst for revenge was now directed at another entity.

"Now that you heard the truth, Sasuke-kun, what do you indent to do?" Sasuke's eyes was closed as he turned to Tobi and then opened up showing his version of the Mangenkyou Sharingan.

"_**I'LL BURN KONOHA TO THE GROUND FOR WHAT THEY DID TO ME AND MY BROTHER!"**_

* * *

**Author Note**

A slight change of events, huh? Sasuke had awakened his Mangenkyou and now wishes to destroy Konoha.

Wonder what Itachi has to say about that?

Also, the alliance was formed and the shinobi were handpicked by the three kages. Will they be enough to eliminate the Akatsuki once and for all? If someone asks why I bothered creating OCs for this, I just didn't want to use the already existing names like Temari, Kankurou, Asuma, Kurenai, Yamato, etc. The reasons are varied. I intend this to be a full out assault between the alliance and Akatsuki, so supplementary techniques would be next to useless against Kisame for example. Also, I chose only elite jounin to accompany the jinchuuriki against S-ranked criminals. From Konoha, only Kakashi, Gai and Jiraiya are considered elite. I apologize if the one you idolize wasn't picked (Shikamaru, Sakura, Ino, Chouji, Neji, Shino, Hinata, Tenten - none of these were available choices).

Check it out next chapter.

I want to take this opportunity and appreciate all my readers for their continuous support of my stories. I'm on the opinion that a fan fiction writer should not depend on the readers' opinions to give his or her point of view of the Naruto world. Writing fan fiction is a hobby and it should appease the writer himself or herself first, before moving on to the readers. However, when a work is rewarded with positive reviews, it gives a more profound purpose to the writer. It gives him or her more drive to move forward. For that, i thank you all.

Also, for others who are now reading this story, please check out my other stories and give me a feedback.


	20. The Namikazes

**Author Note**

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

I'm sorry about the delay in posting this chapter. Aside from the usual problems in life (marriage, work, etc), I took my fair time going through the early chapters to check any plot holes I may have left unanswered. It was nice, though, let me tell you. Instead of being the writer, you get to be the reader of your own story. There were times when I was really excited and at the end of my reading, I forgot that it was actually me who wrote all this. It certainly was an interesting experience, getting to read through everything, while wondering what possessed me to write half the things I wrote. It's kind of funny as well.

Now, last chapter, the Tri Alliance between Konohagakure, Sunagakure and Kumogakure was formed, consisting of the strongest shinobi from each village to aid the jinchuuriki in their battle against Akatsuki. Elsewhere, Sasuke got to learn from the Akatsuki organization's leader – unofficially still – Tobi the truth about Uchiha Itachi and how Konoha had betrayed the Uchiha Clan. In manipulating the poor Uchiha's mind, Tobi managed to get another ally that happened to awake the mangenkyou sharingan. While the Uchiha rival gets stronger by training with Tobi, Naruto gets an offer from Jiraiya to activate the fox's chakra. On a side note, since I know people will like to know, I don't plan for him to learn senjutsu, since I don't actually believe in the necessity of him being able to assess the nine tails' chakra and then learn a much weaker skill (in my opinion) that is sage chakra. I even believe that Kishimoto placed senjutsu first so that Naruto had something to use against the fox. Now, wonder what will happen once the seal holding the fox is loose. Will his skills be enough to subdue the fox?

Also what will happen to Sasuke now that he will be alone in his hunt against Itachi?

Here is the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 20 – The Namikazes**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was seen training with his new Mangenkyou Sharingan.

Now that he had awakened the next evolution of the sharingan eyes, he felt himself getting closer to fulfilling his newest ambition. His new goal to destroy Konoha could only compare to the amount of hatred he felt over his brother for what he did against the clan. Of course, Sasuke's new hatred was only fueled by his old one; to believe that everything happened because the Hokage and the Council of Elders had ordered Itachi to do so. The fact that his clan was planning a coup against the village seemed irrelevant to his reasoning now as he went through every skill he had, this time faster and stronger. At this point, Sasuke believed himself to be unstoppable. His eyes showed him everything in slow motion while he moved at his usual speed. Truly, Sasuke was proud of the accursed eye that blessed his clan since its foundation. However, after all his excitement in testing his new set of eyes, one thought still lingered in his mind.

Yes, the Sharingan was a fearful tool and even with his three tome sharingan, few ever managed to get past Sasuke or even beat him in open combat.

Yet, he wouldn't be in the spot he was now, if one Uzumaki Naruto didn't kick the living shit out of him. To this day, Sasuke still couldn't see how the dobe could be that strong. Even his cursed seal level two wasn't enough against that red energy of his. It was Sasuke's second time fighting a jinchuuriki and a second loss for him. The first time it was against Gaara, Suna's jinchuuriki at the time of the invasion. He imagined that since Itachi was chosen by the Akatsuki to hunt the bijuu, then Sasuke presumed that the man was able to beat them even when the demon containers uses the demon's powers. Though, so far there was no news or any proof that Itachi did defeat a jinchuuriki in battle, since according to the man who saved him from Naruto, Itachi was to be used in capturing the Kyuubi no Yoko not only because of the sharingan, but also because Itachi had knowledge of all of Konoha's secret passageways, since he was an Anbu captain.

Now practicing with his special sword and lighting chakra, Sasuke needed all the strength he could get to at least match his brother in strength.

Attacking Konoha without it would be suicide. Plus, he was confident that his brother would be pissed at Konoha for placing him in said position. Sasuke was already picturing the village being burned by the dark flames of Ametarasu. The thought alone managed to place a rather satisfied smile on his face as he imagined his blade piercing every single one of them who dared betray his clan. Looking from above the valley, Tobi could see Sasuke smiling from no reason and could only venture a guess as to what made the young Uchiha smile so viciously. It was quite amusing to the unofficial leader of Akatsuki how easily he could twist the minds of others, playing in their hatred. Sasuke was actually quite easier than he assumed it would be. After all, the boy already carried a large amount of hatred over Itachi. Tobi only needed a small fact to redirect said hatred to Konoha.

There was no doubt in his mind that Sasuke would be facing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki once more. This time, though, the mangenkyou sharingan would be more than enough to defeat Naruto, allowing the Akatsuki to make the move and capture the jinchuuriki. Tobi just kept watching Sasuke train, when a creature appeared from the ground behind him. Tobi didn't even need to turn to discuss with the present half man half plant, before Zetsu began to talk, beginning with the black part.

"**The Raikage and the Kazekage had arrived in Konoha with their jinchuuriki and a few elite jounin. **It seems the rumor of their alliance was true after all."

"The Tsuchikage no doubt wanted nothing to do with anything involving an alliance with Konoha and the Mizukage's forces are too depleted to focus on anything but the consequences of their civil war. Nevertheless, the three villages alone possess enough fire power to stand their ground against us, I guess. Go and tell Pein, I'll be keeping Sasuke-kun here some company." The plant shinobi nodded, before going back to where he came from, leaving Tobi alone to ponder on the new turn of events. Akatsuki alone couldn't hope to march against a war, but perhaps this alliance doesn't involve a straight war, because for that to happen, both Iwa and Kiri had to join as well. No village is that stupid to use most of its force for this war and leave the village unprotected, unless all the five great hidden villages joined in the alliance. That being said, it would be a battle of their elite against the Akatsuki members.

Tobi smirked at that. The remaining Jinchuuriki would be coming to them, relieving the organization from having to find all of them.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

Right after leaving the meeting, the members of the newly formed squad went to their respective rooms for the day along with the Kages of the two other villages. Naruto and Jiraiya were already gone from the room, as they had now a very important assignment ahead of them. In two days time, they would have to meet the squad for team practices. Right now, the two toad summoners were at the top of the Hokage Building and Naruto was practically trembling in anticipation as he didn't know what to expect now. He was even more unsettled by the fact that Kyuubi hasn't uttered a single word after hearing that Naruto would be receiving all of its chakra. The chunnin had already access to three tails worth of power without succumbing to the chakra's malice.

Jiraiya, for his turn, wasn't facing his student now as in mere moments, there would be no secret left to tell the kid.

Frankly, he was dreading the outcome, but he realized it was a necessity. The Yondaime meant for Naruto to use it after all.

Without turning to meet his student's questioning gaze, Jiraiya waited for a while, before both of them vanished in thin air. Naruto didn't have the time to wonder what was going on, before he vanished as well. When he opened his eyes once more, he saw that they were in a different landscape. Jiraiya was there as well as Gamabunta, Gamakichi and two small toads in front of him. He looked around for a while, trying to find out where he was.

"Welcome Naruto-chan, to Mount Myoboku" Naruto was busy trying to locate the voice, before focusing on the small toad with the black cape. "My name is Fugasaku."

"Wait, how did I get here and why I am here?" This time, Jiraiya explained, unless he wanted Naruto to know that something was wrong in his behavior.

"When you signed the contract, you set up a link with the toads. Just like we can summon them, they could also summon us to their world. And as to why you're here, Fugasaku-sama here has prepared a special room for you to have access to the other half of the fox's chakra." As he expected, the chunnin showed him a confused face at the mention of the word 'half'. He was counting on that as he explained the entire story in pieces. "When the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyuubi no Yoko, he sealed only half of the fox's chakra in you. He sealed the other half inside a seal with the help of the toads to be later given to you when you're ready." Jiraiya was silently hoping that the kid wouldn't ask questions about the Yondaime, but rather about the current course of action.

Naruto spent some time processing the information, before he turned to see Jiraiya doing some hand seals before a scroll came out of his throat. He turned to Fugasaku, seeing as Jiraiya was busy with something.

"So how am I supposed to release the other half? Certainly it can't be as easy as simply ripping the seal from the fox's cage." The small toad grimly nodded.

"All will be explained in time, but I can assure you it won't be easy. Put it simply, it will be required of you to face the fox and defeat it in battle." A silence soon ruled the conversation as Jiraiya was busy doing some changes to what appeared to be a large seal being held by a strange looking toad. The prospect of facing the beast inside of him was too much for Naruto to process now. He was looking down questioning about the slight possibility of him being able to defeat the strongest tailed beast when Jiraiya came and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. Naruto immediately looked at Jiraiya's face, wondering what the man had to say.

"This is something that you must do, Naruto. Normally, I wouldn't put you through this now, but time sadly was taken from you. Without it, you won't have what it takes against Akatsuki."

The chunnin processed it all as he looked at Jiraiya's steeled expression. This was something left to him by the Yondaime Hokage, the man Naruto considered his idol. There was no way in hell he would back down from this. He believed himself strong enough to land a couple of significant blows to the fox. If he didn't try, then all the battles, all the training he did to be prepared would be for nothing. He saw in all their eyes that in order for the procedure to start, he would need to at least show his intention to go through with it. If not, then he would be killed for sure and the fox would take the opportunity to try and release itself from Naruto's body.

"OK let's go then." They all nodded with a smile, before Jiraiya ushered Naruto to the seal he was working on just seconds ago.

"First, you need to place your hand on the square in the middle of the seal. Please do so, focusing your chakra and the seal will do the rest." Naruto nodded at the Sannin, before his fingers started glowing with blue energy. He walked towards the seal in great anticipation as he didn't know what would happen once he touched the seal. His heart started beating faster, but his resolve pushed him to go all the way. As soon as he felt the touch, he looked at the seal expecting some sort of bright energy coming from the seal and the fox appearing in front of him. When nothing happened, he looked around to see if he did anything wrong, earning a smile from Jiraiya.

"Easy there kiddo, you have just completed the first phase of the procedure. The seal in front of you is the key meant to open the gate. Now open your mouth as wide as possible."

The chunnin looked at the man for a while wondering why the hell he needed to do that, but complied. No sooner his mouth was wide open, the toad that carried the seal took the opportunity and jumped right in, surprising the chunnin as he looked at Jiraiya and everyone in shock. It was Fugasaku who jumped and kicked the toad's butt, forcing it down Naruto's throat. Jiraiya smirked as he saw Naruto coughing uncontrollably on the ground, in a pathetic attempt to force air inside his lungs. He remembered himself in the same position right after Minato performed the sealing ritual that sealed the fox inside Naruto. With Naruto now standing up and wiping the drool from his mouth, he looked at Jiraiya waiting for phase two.

"What is the next phase?"

"Now, like Fugasaku-sama here explained, you'll have to face the fox head on." Naruto nodded as he followed the group towards the place where Naruto would be facing the fox. Jiraiya, in the mean time, began to explain what Naruto had to do. "When you open the gates, the fox will come at you wanting nothing but to kill you. Aside from defeating the fox, you must capture the fox's chakra. As soon as the fight starts, you'll know what you have to do. A bit of warning, though; just like you can capture its chakra, the fox can also capture your own. If that happens, you're finished." Naruto nodded and Jiraiya could see a fierce resolve in the kid's face, even though he knew that Naruto was worried about his odds. It was something all jinchuuriki went through, though. In order to truly master the beast's chakra, the jinchuuriki must face the beast and literally steal it.

"Just in case I fail, is there anything that can keep the fox from getting free?"

Jiraiya looked at the chunnin, surprised that Naruto actually voiced his concern over his odds.

"Not that we expect you to, but steps have been made just in case. The room we are about to enter is a special chamber filled with seals that are able to keep the fox inside." The chunnin just nodded without uttering more words, which still frightened the sannin a bit. For someone who used to be so loud and obnoxious, seeing Naruto behaving like this still unnerved the sannin. He blamed everyone for this, but above all, he blamed himself for not protecting Naruto enough, forcing the kid to take all matters on himself. Perhaps if he had told the truth back when the timing was right and taken Naruto under his wing, then he wouldn't be this way now. There was a reason that Konoha no longer forced too many responsibilities in one so young. The inexperienced mind just couldn't cope with the pressure. He could see in Naruto's eyes as they walked, that the kid had taken the fox's burden all to himself and it saddened the man that he couldn't do anything to aid Naruto against the fox.

After five minutes walking, the group stopped in front of what looked like a warehouse. The door opened and Jiraiya stopped Naruto before he could enter.

"Sadly, I can only show you the door Naruto; it's you that must walk through it."

The boy nodded with a smile as he understood. He walked inside the structure, before he saw the door closing. As soon as he heard the noise of the door closing, the walls started to glow as the seals were being drawn right in front of him. The entire procedure took one minute, before he saw that the seal arrays were drawn around a square that was located in the middle of the room. He jumped from his position and landed inside the square, before seating in lotus position and closing his eyes. In doing so, he didn't notice that the room being engulfed in a bright white light as he went straight to the room where the fox was being held.

* * *

**===At the fox's cage===**

When Naruto opened his eyes once more, he was standing in front of the fox's cage and looking straight at the creature's eyes as the demon stared at him as well. Above all things passing in Naruto's mind, was to hear what the fox thought of all this. The deal was that in exchange for using the fox's chakra, Naruto allowed access to the outside world. That meant that the Kyuubi now shared his ability to hear and see the outside world.

"No doubt you heard everything that happened until I came here. I want to hear your side in this." Naruto asked, but the fox remained silent, but the fox didn't divert the stare.

"**Pathetic meat bag, I care very little about your human problems. In my opinion, you're weak and you forever will be without my help, of course." **Despite the dire situation, Naruto couldn't help but frown at the beast's comment. He was already thinking of ways to beat the living crap out of the fur ball for the comment. **"Should you decide to go through with this little plan of yours and release me, I guarantee you that I'll show you how pathetic you really are. Not to mention that in doing so, you'll be condemning the entire world to hell. This place your body is right now won't be able to hold me in as I'll be prepared for when I escape."**

Naruto looked at the fox in front of him this time with narrowed eyes. He was having doubts about this, but now the game was on.

"It was stupid of me to come here and try to reach a settlement with you bastard kitsune. Let's deal with this shit." Naruto marched towards the cage and lifted the seal tag that kept it locked. In front of him was a strange symbol that appeared to be some kind of lock. He figured that the key he received earlier was to open this strange device. After activating it, he saw the same lock structure being drawn in his hand, before he place his hand on the lock and turning it. In little more than five seconds, the lock was no more and the fox slammed the prison bars, violently opening the gates, while trying to kill Naruto right there. The chunnin had already jumped backwards by the time the lock was opened and saw with surprise that next to the fox a shimmered image appeared. Looking to his right, Naruto saw in surprise that he had a similar one as well.

'… _A bit of warning, though; just like you can capture its chakra, the fox can also capture your own.'_

As he remembered Jiraiya's words, he now connected the dots that this appearance represents the fox's chakra he was supposed to steal. He could see the fox smirking at him, probably believing that he was nothing but a healthy snack for the beast. Suddenly, the creature lunged at its host, attacking Naruto head on with its claw. Naruto evaded the attack and started to run on top of Kyuubi's arm, while at the same time picking up his metal staff and twirling it. He dodged Kyuubi's other hand trying to dismiss Naruto just like a human being sending a fly away from his body. Naruto soon reached the fox's head and aimed a powerful strike towards the fox's right eye, hitting it. The fox roared in pain, since the staff was laired with wind chakra. Naruto immediately went towards the energy he needed to capture and started the process of sucking the fox's chakra.

He only had time for a little bit, before having to sever the link as one of the fox's tails was about to hit him. Naruto had to force a majority of wind chakra towards stopping the force of each tail while evading them to his best ability. Naruto took advantage of the distance and made a long series of hand seals, before molding a large quantity of chakra for this technique. Against the Kyuubi, Naruto couldn't afford to focus on anything but destructive techniques.

_Fuuton Suraisu no Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Slicing Tornado Technique)_

In front of Naruto, the powerful beast of wind charged against the Kyuubi, before slamming it full force. The Kyuubi, though, merely stood its ground while battling against the powerful wind technique. It roared in defiance, before releasing the hurricane from his presence, but not without a cost. Naruto's technique was not only strong, but filled with wind chakra. Naruto could see a great number of deep cuts in Kyuubi's fur that must have hurt like a bitch. He didn't have time to smirk at the fox's misfortune as the beast opened his mouth and threw a bijuudama straight at the chunnin who looked at it in surprise. The violent energy rocked the cage. Naruto, however, appeared a few inches away from the blast, summoning a last minute kage bunshin to replace himself. He just didn't have any defensive technique in his arsenal strong enough for that which frightened him a little.

"It seems the fox is indeed trying to kill me. I can't allow him time to prepare that technique."

Naruto had to run quickly as the fox was preparing another bijuudama. He used his mastery in wind to increase his speed until he appeared right beneath the fox's claw. Since the creature was busy concentrating on the energy, it wasn't aware of Naruto's presence, allowing Naruto to attack by slicing the fox's paw with a concentrated wind sword. The fox screamed in pain and few on the ground. Naruto immediately summoned a kage bunshin and jumped together while forming a considerable Oodama Rasengan. The fox looked up and snarled at the kid who insinuated he could hurt the almighty Kyuubi no Yoko. The energy formed by the rasengan was four meters wide in diameter as Naruto dived towards the fox. Kyuubi used all its tails to block the powerful ball of energy. Naruto tried to create some distance and tried evading the fox's tails, but one did hit him and send him flying. Since the place was filled with water, it smoothed his fall.

Quickly summoning three kage bunshin, all four of them began a large series of hand seals, before the water on the ground started to stir.

_Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)_

Four water dragons charged at Kyuubi who wasn't able to parry the attacks, roaring in rage as each dragon did its damage on the fox's fur. Naruto looked at the creature from his position, wondering how the hell he will defeat the fox if every technique he threw at the Kyuubi, his body would heal instantly. It's not like his chakra capacity was endless here. The chunnin was surprised as hell when the fox managed to gather energy inside its mouth faster than before and threw it at Naruto. The energy was approaching the chunnin fast and the shinobi didn't have the time to dodge or even summon a kage bunshin to help him escape. Suddenly, something appeared in front of Naruto that surprised both him and the Kyuubi. Kanji started being written in thin air, forming a strange structure. The bijuudama slammed at the strange seal structure, before being sucked inside and disappearing.

The energy appeared far from his position, before blasting the area far from Naruto.

When Naruto turned to see what happened, he was shocked as hell to see none other than the Yondaime Hokage there with his arms stretched.

"Yondaime….? What are you doing here?" The man in question smirked at the younger blond.

"Now is not the time to talk Naruto. You have a mission at stake here." The chunnin kept looking at the man he referred to as his idol in continued surprise. Surely, he wasn't seeing things, because the fox was now angry…well angrier than before. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sudden appearance, but turned to the beast he was facing. He had a great number of questions and he was getting answers after this mess was fixed. Looking at the beast, he charged at the beast while dodging its tails, before standing right in front of the fox, while finishing a long series of hand seals.

_Fuuton Atsugai (Wind Release: Pressure Damage Technique)_

The huge dome of wind charged from all directions, hitting the fox full force, once more earning a mighty roar in defiance. The wind chakra caused new slashes in the fox's fur, forming holes all over the place as if Naruto was yanking it. Once more, Naruto was surprised when a good number of chains came from the ground and trapped the fox in place. Naruto didn't understand a thing as now next to the Yondaime Hokage, was a long red haired very beautiful woman. The chakra chains came from her back and both of them were smiling at Naruto. Now, more questions appeared in Naruto's mind. He presumed that since the Yondaime performed the Kyuubi's sealing inside of him that the man would be here, but who was this woman and why could he sense something else radiating from these two. He turned to the fox and noticed that its attention wasn't focused on him, but on the two new presences behind Naruto.

Taking advantage of the situation, Naruto grabbed the fox's energy and started the stealing process. He could see the red malevolent substance leaving the fox and reaching his body, before engulfing his body. His body started trembling in rage as he could feel the same evil aura as he felt when he used the fox's chakra for the first time. Despite it all, he didn't stop the procedure. He didn't know what the hell was going on, but he was damned if he didn't take advantage of this opportunity. He could hear screams of pain. He could see evil in its pure form, caused by the amount of hatred gathered by the humans. When the process was finished, Naruto released its hold on the fox's chakra, but he was still trembling at the level of hatred he was feeling right now. This time, he was relieving all his troubled life before becoming a genin. The fox was weakened on the ground and Minato took the opportunity to reseal the beast inside, while Kushina went to help Naruto get over.

She kneeled right in front of him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, forcing Naruto to look up. His eyes were black and red.

"….Who are you?" Kushina smiled at Naruto.

"I'm your mother, Naruto, Uzumaki Kushina." In the ninja world, just claiming to be someone meant nothing. However, just looking at the woman's smile was enough for Naruto's eyes to go back to its previous color. Just something Naruto saw in this woman made him believe she was telling the truth. Since the malevolent chakra was now stored in Naruto, the last part consisted in him incorporating it to his own system, thus literally cleansing it. Looking at the woman that appeared to be his mother, Naruto started focusing on his chakra. He needed to control. He screamed in fury not allowing it to control him, before a golden energy appeared surrounding his body. The pain was gone as he looked at this new transformation with nothing but curiosity. The young blond noticed that the Yondaime Hokage was done trapping the fox once more and appeared next to the red haired woman.

"We are very proud of you Naruto. No wonder, you're my son." Minato showed a smile similar to Naruto's own when he was genuily happy with something.

The chunnin kept looking at the two in front of him, still having trouble swallowing the truth. The golden energy was already gone as he started walking slowly towards them while trying to call them by their names, by their relation towards him. It was so surreal, meeting them after close to sixteen years. Each step solidified the notion that he wanted to believe that he had finally met his parents. Each step he realized that he had parents who loved him and that he wasn't abandoned because of his status as a jinchuuriki. When he stopped and stared at his parents, every emotion that he repelled, every tear he tried so hard not to fall, every force he had in not crying was released right there as he enveloped his parents in a long and hard embrace, while releasing close to fifteen years worth of tears. Minato and Kushina eagerly returned the embrace; both crying as well as this was the first time the Namikazes got to hug each other in sixteen years.

The family was reunited once more and Naruto wanted to savor each second of this.

* * *

**===Outside Naruto's mindscape===**

The place Naruto was in had a special room where Jiraiya and Fugasaku were there watching the chunnin since the beginning. They were surprised and rather frightened when the red energy surrounded Naruto. The tails were appearing one after another and by the third tail, Jiraiya was convinced that something went terribly wrong and with a heavy sigh, was already preparing the adjacent seals inside the room for when the fox took full control over Naruto's body. It was only due to Fugasaku's insistence that Jiraiya waited to use the seals when the fourth tail appeared. When the tails were slowly receding, both Jiraiya and Fugasaku realized that both were holding their breath without realizing it. Now both were smiling as the kid had done it, apparently.

* * *

**===Inside Naruto's mindscape===**

The Namikazes were now seating inside a blank room, conversing about Naruto's life as well as what really happened at the time of the fox's attack on Konoha.

Naruto was shocked to know that the attack wasn't random, but planned by a man wearing an orange mask with swirling design. He was even more surprised when he asked his father about a similar one that prevented him from taking Sasuke to Konoha. Naruto now believed that this man was the real leader of the organization after him and already made a mental note to report his findings to the alliance when he came back. Right now, Naruto's entire attention was focused on the picture in front of him. His parents were looking at him with a bright smile on their faces. He admitted not having that much experience in being a part of a family. He could see the similarities between his life and how his parents behaved. His mother clearly was the one he took his personality from and his appearance mirrored his father almost completely. A single tear escaped his eye as he smiled at them. This picture would be forever recorded in his mind.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Asked Kushina before Naruto showed a smile.

"It's nothing, I'm just happy to have had the chance to meet you two." Both Minato and Kushina smiled. "Ever since I was born, I was on my own trying to survive. People sent me looks all the time; vendors overpriced everything I wanted to buy being food, clothes and ninja supplies. Sandaime-Ojichan tried his best to take care of me, but he had an entire village to run. Despite it all, not once was I told of the truth of what I am or who my parents were. I didn't know if I was abandoned by you guys." Both Kushina and Minato knew about all this, having been inside of the seal, sharing their child's pain. "But now that I had the chance to meet you two….it's been a dream of mine and for that I thank you all for what you did." Looking at Naruto, both his parents could see that their son was happy. They were prepared to face his pent up anger if they had to. Naruto needed to master the fox's chakra. Minato could only wonder how Naruto will behave when he confronts Jiraiya after knowing that the man is his godfather.

"Now Naruto-kun, I can see you have a girlfriend, huh. Can we expect some grandchildren soon?" Naruto looked at his mother with a nervous smile on his face.

"Kaa-chan, I don't think I'm ready for having a baby, although it would be so nice to have one. I don't know about Yuugao-chan, though." Both parents laughed at their kid's embarrassment. Minato, being the Hokage, knew little about his daughter-in-law. He remembered her as a fresh out of the academy genin and the woman from Naruto's memories. Even so, he could see how his son brightened when he spoke about Yuugao to Kushina. He started to pay attention as the boy was still talking about her. "Yuugao-chan and I have been together for two years now, but with the world in this state, having a child now would only place him or her in the middle of this mess. Not to mention that I'm completely alien to the prospect of being a parent." Minato and Kushina actually smirked at the last part. Kushina, though, decided to comment on something rather funny.

"Naruto-kun, no parent is ever going to be prepared. I remember when I announced to your father that I was pregnant. He just kept repeating the phrase 'I'm going to be a father' for half an hour."

Minato actually frowned at the revelation, earning a warm laughter from their son.

"Plus with him gone constantly either in missions or handling the village, he didn't have the time to be around much to help me during the pregnancy. In choosing not to have a child during war time, you have showed us a very mature decision, typical of any parent and for that I'm really proud of the man you became, Naruto-kun." Naruto nodded in appreciation, before being surprised that the images of his parents began to vanish a little bit. Both Minato and Kushina were already aware of this as they had to use the remaining chakra they had inside the seal to aid Naruto against the fox. Minato placed a comforting hand on Kushina's shoulder and nodded at her with a smile on his face. He then turned to Naruto.

"I believe our presence here is at an end, Naruto. In aiding you against the fox, we have used all our stored chakra." Naruto looked like he was about to protest and even swallowed hard.

"…I understand and thank you both for ever being there for me, even if I only knew about this now." His parents shared their son's humor. "I'll always cherish this memory of us fighting together as a family." Naruto couldn't express his feeling in words anymore and gathered Minato and Kushina for a family hug, trying to take as much time as possible feeling the warmth of their embrace. "I love you all and I'll make you two proud of me, of that I swear."

"We are already proud of you Naruto-kun. One last thing, though, before we go." Naruto looked at his father in the eyes. "Locate our house in Konoha. Talk to Jiraiya-sensei, he knows where the house is. He is your godfather after all." Naruto nodded at them, before seeing their image disappear for good and a lone tear escaping his mother's eyes that fell on the water. When Naruto realized, he was back inside the cage room, giving his back to the fox he had just fought against. From the fox's appearance, it was clear that it has seen better days. The Kyuubi was almost out of breath and his fur was practically falling from his body.

"**How do you feel now that you've practically stolen my chakra against my will, brat? If it wasn't for your parents helping you, I'd be eating your bones right now." **

Naruto's back was still turned to the fox, before he turned with a smile on his face.

"When I had access to your chakra, I could feel the amount of hatred you carry with yourself all this time, fox. I now understand the reason behind your behavior." Kyuubi's eyes were focused on his jailer as Naruto spoke still with a smile on his face. "I don't know how, but I swear to you that I will do everything I can to rid you of your hatred. It is my compromise to you." The fox narrowed his eyes at the chunnin, before sneering at him.

"**Pathetic…you couldn't even cure Sasuke, let alone attempt to tamper with my hatred." **

"You've known me long enough to realize one important aspect about me." Naruto vanished from his position, before appearing right in front of Kyuubi's eyes. "I will never give up".

Naruto smiled once more, before leaving the place. As he walked away, he didn't know that the fox was watching his back questioning if the kid's words had merit or was just like everyone else before him.

* * *

**===Outside his mindscape===**

When Naruto opened his eyes, he was back inside the room at Mount Myoboku. So much has happened in such a short time that he actually felt kind of dizzy. He fought the Kyuubi no Yoko with his strongest techniques; he met his parents who happened to aid him against the fox; he learned that they were indeed their parents and the real truth behind the Kyuubi's attack. Above all, he remembered one specific piece of information that made him slightly mad. The door behind him opened and Jiraiya walked through it, apparently congratulating Naruto for being able to confront the fox and complete the necessary procedure.

"Congrats gaki, now we can go back to Konoha. Your new team is waiting for you." Jiraiya was at little taken aback when Naruto stared at him with apathy. Naruto, then, got up from his seating position.

"Thanks a lot, _godfather._" The last word was spoken with such spite that to Jiraiya it felt like he received a jab far stronger than Tsunade's. The perverted sannin was frozen in place, while Naruto was walking out of the room, not even bothering to hear the explanation of why the man didn't bother to mention the truth during their training trip. It happened just like he feared it would. He knew Minato to be a genius and he knew that somehow he would have left something inside the seal that allowed him to reach to his son. The last thing he wanted right now was to deal with this mess. Well, aside from the fox taking over, that is. He had agreed with Tsunade that the timing just wasn't appropriate to reveal the truth to Naruto, especially since Iwagakure had declined the alliance. Marching outside the room, he found Naruto waiting just outside. It was now needed of him to talk to the gaki and try to absorb his anger somewhat.

"Naruto…." Jiraiya tried to talk, but Naruto interrupted.

"I'm not looking forward to any sort of explanation here. I'm not mad only at you for not speaking the truth, but Sandaime, Tsunade and even Kakashi-sensei as well. They all knew and no one even bothered to tell me about it." Jiraiya was looking down at this point. "My parents did the impossible by sealing a bit of their chakra inside the seal so that they could talk to me. You all, on the other hand, were in my life since I was born and didn't bother to tell me, or even give any indication. As a shinobi of the village, I understand why none of you told me." The sannin looked up in hope, but Naruto wasn't finished. "As a human being, however, I find myself wondering how I'll ever forgive all of you for keeping me away from the truth all this time."

Jiraiya just didn't have words right now. It was inevitable that Naruto would react like this.

"How the hell do we get out of this place?" Naruto screamed looking for Fugasaku to take him to Konoha.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

After taking a fair amount of time adapting his skills to the Mangenkyou Sharingan, Sasuke marched towards Tobi demanding to review Itachi's location.

The leader was all too happy to oblige giving him everything Sasuke needed to find Itachi. The following match fit right in his plans as Itachi was a wild card in his organization. Tobi knew that Itachi wouldn't do the organization's bidding for long. Quite frankly, Tobi much preferred someone to whom he could easily manipulate to do his personal bidding. Sasuke would be the vessel of his will. As he saw the Uchiha leaving the area, Tobi couldn't help but smirk behind his mask, before vanishing in thin air.

* * *

**Author Note**

And that's it for now.

I even contemplated giving Naruto senjutsu as well, but given that he now has the fox's power, it seemed irrelevant to train him in a weaker skill, not to mention that activating the golden cloak is much faster and less risky than sitting still for a while gathering nature chakra. That being said, now that Naruto has access to the fox's chakra, the alliance squad has a much stronger ally to fight against Akatsuki. Also, what will happen to Sasuke when he confronts Itachi? Will he convince Itachi to follow his plan or will Itachi try to stop Sasuke? See it all next chapter.

I want to take this opportunity and comment on the manga a bit. My indignation is Obito's entire reason for destroying the world.

"Rin"

Well, not exactly, because Obito was **only** Rin's teammate. That being said, his entire reason for world dominance is his **crush on his teammate**. Hell, what's the difference between his pain and, let's say, Tsunade who lost both her brother and lover in the war? Sasuke who lost his entire family at the hands on his brother? Itachi who had to kill his clan? Nagato who lost his parents to a couple of chunnin from Konoha? Obito may have loved the idea of being Rin's boyfriend, lover, whatever. But he never even went out with her, as far as we know it. I would have thought that whoever Tobi was, he would have a valid reason, like Tsunade, Sasuke or Itachi. Even Naruto had lost Jiraiya and the Sandaime Hokage, meaning that he had lost more than Obito had. I'm not even mentioning him growing up alone, because technically he didn't lose his parents.

I'm not saying that the man didn't suffer enough or anything like that. I'm saying that other characters suffered much worse and didn't rebel against the entire world. I know that is all Madara's bidding, convincing Obito about his way of seeing things. Perhaps, Madara ordered Zetsu to tell Obito that Rin was in trouble, just to see her being killed (The manga is still due to explain that by the way, since Kakashi wouldn't kill the woman and still remain a loyal shinobi of the Leaf).


	21. The Truths

**Author Note**

Hi everybody and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

I know that it's been some time since I last updated this story. The reason is that since the plot is bearing its end, the author must now work real hard to close the story while at the same time keeping up with the created events. For instance, the ending in this story will certainly be different than what's happening in canon or even what I managed to create for my other completed stories. That being said, I took advantage of my vacation period to think of a suitable ending that hasn't been exploited yet. I'm not saying that this will be the last chapter. I'm saying that this story is very close to being finished. Now last chapter, Naruto went through some very tough times, beating the nine-tailed fox and meeting his parents. Now, he has gained the fox's power and his jutsu will be much stronger now. Also, what will happen when Sasuke and Itachi meet?

Check it out…

* * *

**Chapter 21 – The truths**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Tsunade, the Raikage and Nara Shikaku were busy watching the members of the formed alliance as they went through specific drills meant to familiarize each other as a team. Battle team formations, collaboration jutsu, leadership skills; these and more were slowly being formed under the leadership of the Raikage who was appointed the general of the alliance. The three formed teams will battle S-ranked opponents, so aside from completing the drills, it will be up to Shikaku and the Raikage to best see which team will be up against which member of the Akatsuki organization. The material gathered by the villages was extensive and should very well aid them. Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was quiet as she watched the teams; though her focus was only on one person. Ever since Jiraiya arrived with Naruto from the Land of Toads, she could see in his face that something was wrong with Naruto.

Jiraiya told her what happened and told her about Naruto's cold shoulder after waking up from beating the fox.

She could only guess that the kid was angry with those who deliberately kept the information about his parents from him all this time. In this group, was herself, the Sandaime Hokage and Hatake Kakashi. Because of the events right now, Tsunade hadn't so far found a proper time to talk to him about it. She knew that it would take some time to convince him of the reason behind it all. Tsunade briefly contemplated talking to Yuugao about it. The Hokage knew from Shizune that Yuugao had a long talk with him about the subject. Yuugao was shocked about the news that Naruto was the Yondaime's son. Tsunade heard that Yuugao apologized to Naruto about not figuring it out sooner. According to Shizune, Naruto thought nothing of it, saying that he wouldn't even consider blaming Yuugao for something she didn't know as well. However the fact remained that he did blame those who did know about it and didn't tell him about it.

Truth be told, Naruto was supposed to be informed about it when he received the promotion to chunnin, but a lot of events led her to postpone what would clearly be a sensitive topic.

With a resolved mind, after today's training, she would call Naruto, Kakashi and Jiraiya to put some closure into this situation that the Sandaime Hokage started. As she witnessed the power and anger behind Naruto's attacks especially when pitted against Jiraiya or Kakashi, she feared that Naruto wouldn't function correctly in the future assignment without it. Taking the trouble aside, Tsunade couldn't help but smile at how much more powerful and faster Naruto was now due to receiving the Kyuubi's power. Aside from Kakashi, due to the sharingan, only the Raikage and the Sannin managed to follow Naruto's speed. The Raikage was deeply impressed to see the second coming of the Yellow Flash. The Yondaime Hokage was perhaps the only one that was faster than the Raikage and now the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki would take over the mantle, it appeared. In a sense, the Raikage was thrilled to see that the Akatsuki will have a fierce competition ahead against these selected shinobi.

The training progressed smoothly until the sun began its descent. The Kages followed Tsunade to her office, while the shinobi from Kumo and Suna left to their hotels. Jiraiya, Gai and Kakashi knew better than to stay close to Naruto now if today's training was any indication. With Gai's exception since he considered Naruto's fierce training as a result of his youthfulness, Jiraiya and Kakashi knew the reason behind Naruto's behavior. Jiraiya had already heard bits and pieces of it and told Kakashi about it. With that in mind, both of them departed, leaving the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki alone to ponder on his thoughts. The sky was slowly but surely changing its color from the bright blue to a melancholic orange. Naruto's eyes lost their focus as he surveyed the destroyed field, courtesy of his anger. To this day, the people he trusted the most in his life had withheld the truth about his past. He only became aware of his jinchuuriki status when he was twelve and that was because the traitor Mizuki didn't care if he went against the Hokage's orders. He wondered about if the circumstances were different that day? What if he went against Mizuki from the beginning? Would the Sandaime tell him about the Kyuubi?

Walking a little towards the small river, Naruto looked at his reflection in the water and was surprised to see the image of the fox smirking at him. He sighed and closed his eyes.

* * *

**===Inside Naruto's mindscape===**

Looking at the gates that held the creature responsible for the destruction of the village, Naruto released a sigh once more.

"You wished to speak to me?" The haunting laughter echoed for a while, before the gigantic beast appeared for its jailor.

"**I can feel your anger towards those who wronged you in the past and I applaud how you thrashed your sensei for withholding this precious information from you." **Naruto just stared at the creature which was savoring every bit of his negative thoughts, as if it was the fox's meal of the day. He knew that the fox's power was directly linked to the human's negative emotions. Truth be told, though, Naruto didn't simply believe himself capable of letting go of it all without confronting the ones responsible about what they did. Before the quest to plunge the Kyuubi out of its hatred, Naruto must understand the source of its power. All the bad events in the world culminated in the fox being as powerful as it was now. For Naruto to end this cycle, he must find a way to break it and start a new one.

"I won't lie and say I'm not angry at them for keeping the information of my parents from me. I will demand every bit of explanation possible, but I will not let my anger get past that." The fox kept looking at the jinchuuriki. "I told you before that I managed to feel your chakra. I could feel the amount of hatred coming from it and I understood the source; actions moved by negative emotions like vengeance, treason, murder. I won't be moved by my anger, no matter how strong you make it out to be." The Kyuubi snarled at his jailor, but Naruto didn't waste more time inside his mindscape. When he opened his eyes, it was already night time and he allowed himself some ramen time. It wouldn't do him any good to keep his stomach waiting.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

Every step Sasuke took towards the direction Tobi has supplied him with, his heart skipped a beat. Ever since that fateful day, when Itachi annihilated the entire Uchiha Clan with the exception of Sasuke, the young Uchiha had prepared for this meeting. Until a week ago, Sasuke wanted nothing but to kill Itachi for the sins he had committed against their family. Now as he understood the truth behind the events, Sasuke's revenge was now shifted to another target. His ire was now pointed to those who forced Itachi's hand into killing their family. Konoha had taken everything from him. And worst of all was that Sasuke had spent his entire life seeing the peace inside the village walls. He saw people smiling and going on with their lives. All the laughter he heard was nothing but torture for the young Uchiha. To Sasuke, they were laughing at the Uchiha Clan, laughing at the sacrifice made by his brother. It only made Sasuke even angrier when he remembered the Sandaime Hokage smiling at him from time to time.

He was the one who ordered Itachi and yet, the old fossil had the nerve to show a happy face to Sasuke as if he didn't have anything to do with it.

Sure, Sasuke knew what was at stake. According to Tobi, the clan was about to make a move against the village in retaliation for the village supposedly diminishing the prestige and power once held by the one of the founding clans. Because of this, the elders of Konoha believed that one from the inside of the clan would be perfect to cut the roots of the problem before it happened. Thus, Itachi was used for the village's benefit. In the end, he was declared an S-ranked missing-nin and branded as one of the worst criminals by doing what the village wanted from him. Just by thinking about it, Sasuke's blood began to boil. His arms began to tremble as he remembered all that'd happened so far in his life. It was all a lie from the beginning, he reasoned. After a few minutes, the trembling stopped as Sasuke calmed down somewhat. He would find his brother and together they would make Konoha pay for what they did. As he entered inside the old castle that was used by the Uchiha Clan in the past, Sasuke smirked as he would see his brother again, not as his enemy but an ally once more.

Reclining on a stone throne located in a room inside the castle, Itachi had his eyes closed as he sensed Sasuke's chakra presence enter the compound. Today was the day his destiny would be fulfilled. Itachi opened his eyes just as he heard footsteps echoing in the hall that lead to the room he was in. Itachi had a detached expression and even placed one hand on his chin as if he was bored from being here. In seconds, the Uchiha brothers stared at one another quietly as Itachi was busy contemplating the subtle changes in Sasuke's behavior. He knew that Madara told Sasuke the truth about the day he slaughtered the Uchiha Clan. It was the reason that Sasuke was here in the first place. Itachi made it this way so that Sasuke could avenge his clan and kill Itachi, but instead Itachi couldn't sense any hatred coming from his younger brother.

"Tell me Sasuke, what is your sharingan showing you? Still to this day, you fail to fulfill the one thing I told you to do. You lack hatred and without it, you will never defeat me." Despite knowing the truth about it, Sasuke couldn't help but flinch at those words that still haunted his mind. Every time Itachi used the Mangenkyou on him, the same words were repeated over and over.

"I didn't come here to kill you Itachi." The older brother remained impassive as he listened. "Madara told me the truth about what happened and I no longer bear any ill will towards you for what you did. They forced you into doing this and they will pay for what they did. I came here to talk to you about joining forces and killing the real ones responsible for the death of the Uchiha Clan." Itachi still remained impassive as he now understood the small shift in his brother's mindset. Sasuke now wanted to kill Konoha and not him.

"I see that Madara has told you what happened that day…however he didn't tell you one crucial aspect behind the event. How could he since he wasn't in my head to understand it." Sasuke immediately tensed at the words.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sure, Konoha felt that the Uchiha Clan was about to start a civil war and yes I was chosen to end it before the problems escalated to a full out battle that could cost the village greatly. However what Madara didn't explain to you was that when confronted with different ideas to resolve the issue, it was I who came up with the solution and even volunteered for it." Itachi was sill stoic as he saw Sasuke's eyes bulge at the recent revelations. Itachi could very well see the ramifications of his declaration and stood there waiting for Sasuke to snap. Itachi could not control what Madara spoke to Sasuke, but he could very well twist and bend the truth a bit to make sure the events occured to his liking. When Sasuke's sharingan activated, Itachi allowed a brief sigh in dismay at how easy manipulating Sasuke was.

"You asked me what my sharingan showed me, Itachi. It showed me your death. I'll avenge the clan right here."

With impressive speeds, Sasuke unleashed his sword and immediately charged Itachi, while casting a subtle disorienting genjutsu. Itachi, though, snorted at the amateur tactic and parried the sword with a kunai. Itachi had a look of surprise on his face, though, when a different sword pierced his stomach. He looked at the Sasuke he was battling and saw his brother smirking, before it transformed into a bunch of white snakes. For a moment, Sasuke stood behind Itachi with his sword inside Itachi. He allowed a moment of silence, wondering if it was that easy to kill his brother when Sasuke realized that something was terribly wrong with this image. For one, he didn't remember if Itachi ever got up from the throne where he was seating.

"It took you a while, Sasuke. I already told you brother, without hatred, you cannot defeat me. You do not have the Mangenkyou Sharingan." This time Itachi did get up as the other image faded from view. Sasuke saw red.

"I don't need the Mangenkyou to beat you Itachi. I know about the secret behind the Mangenkyou. I know about the cost of being blind just to be able to control the Kyuubi." As usual, Itachi remained his usual façade which infuriated Sasuke.

"Yes, indeed, the mangenkyou does come with a price. However, there is one way out of it, Sasuke. You see, there is another level to the Mangenkyou that I bet you knew nothing about. It's called Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan and it consists of merging a set of sharingan eyes with the Mangenkyou, thus ridding the curse." Sasuke was immediately startled when he saw a sudden look of madness and laughter from his brother. "Now I'll take your eyes foolish little brother and will be unstoppable." Itachi activated the Mangenkyou and vanished before appearing in front of the surprised Sasuke and sending his flying to the stone pillar behind them. Upon contact, Sasuke spit blood from his mouth as Itachi began to extract the right eye from Sasuke's sockets. "One down…" Sasuke, though, screamed at his brother and used the power of the cursed seal to force Itachi away from him. Itachi did back off from Sasuke as he looked at the influence of the cursed seal, courtesy of Orochimaru.

"That alone won't stop me from getting what I want, Sasuke. Eventually, you'll succumb and I will have your eyes." Sasuke now looked at his brother without one shred of doubt in his mind.

"I will kill you for good Itachi…my hatred will make that a reality." Itachi smirked at the answer. Sasuke was already going through hand signs for a fire technique.

"We shall see." Itachi said as he mirrored Sasuke's hand seals and started the sequence as well.

* * *

**===In Konoha===**

Unaware of the fight happening between the Uchiha, Naruto was heading straight to the Hokage's Office as he was summoned to attend a meeting there in ten minutes. The Anbu that give him the message was rather vague in stating the subject, merely stating that the Hokage wished to discuss personal subjects with him. Naruto snorted, though. There was only one sensitive subject in his mind and that was why he was kept from the truth. No it was worse than that, he reasoned. He found out the hard way about the truth, because no one had told him about it. Mizuki told him he was the jinchuuriki for his own selfish reasons. As he entered the Hokage's Administrative Building and climbed the stairs towards the office, he wondered how the conversation would go.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

The extinct compound of the Uchiha Clan became alive as the gigantic fireballs clashed against each other. As far as fire manipulation, it was clear that both brothers were equally matched. Itachi conceded to his little brother that he had advanced a lot as far as fire ninjutsu was involved. However, he wasn't kidding when he said that the Mangenkyou Sharingan was the key to winning the fight. While continuing with the fireball technique, Itachi morphed his eyes into the Mangenkyou Sharingan and released the deadly black flames of Ametarasu at Sasuke. The young Uchiha was surprised and instantly activated his second level cursed seal, before placing both wings in front of the black flames to protect himself. Immediately, upon contact with the wings, Sasuke let out a scream of pain as the wings were extensions of his own body. He remembered the lessons from Orochimaru and realized that these flames would consume his body in seconds.

He yanked the wings from his back and backed off, while looking at his brother with a snarl.

"You still believe yourself capable of defeating me, Sasuke?" Sasuke snarled and charged at Itachi once more unleashing small sized fireballs forcing Itachi to dodge them, allowing Sasuke to reduce the distance and strike Itachi with his sword. Sasuke's speed had doubled and Itachi wondered if Orochimaru supplied his little brother with something that would enhance one's normal speed. He doubted that Sasuke would move slowly at the beginning just to trick him. However, Itachi was well versed in speeds much faster than this when he was still an Anbu Captain in Konoha. He turned just as Sasuke moved in for the last blow and dodged slightly and moved in to stab Sasuke in the stomach. The young Uchiha saw the move and abandoned his course of action, before throwing a bunch of shuriken at Itachi, hoping to stall him.

Itachi's body transformed into crows and he appeared behind Sasuke, who also used a replacement technique to escape Itachi. Sasuke immediately went through hand seals, before slamming his hand on the ground.

Itachi saw a chain of lightning leave Sasuke's hand and charged him at impressive speeds. Itachi jumped slightly to avoid the lightning technique when he saw a windmill shuriken approaching his position, threatening to slice him in half. The elder Uchiha dodged it before seeing another following it shortly. Using a simple replacement technique with the other windmill shuriken, Itachi then charged Sasuke once more. Both Uchiha began a series of taijutsu blows to each other. On occasion, one would cast a disorienting genjutsu and the other would break it before defending the blow. Eventually, Sasuke and Itachi parried swords in the middle of the room, before backing off slightly. Sasuke took the opportunity and made quick hand signs.

_Katon Gouryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique)_

From Sasuke's mouth, a bunch of considerably sized dragon mouth shaped fireballs charged at Itachi. The elder Uchiha couldn't dodge them all and even one scorched his arm, before continuing its travel towards the ceiling. The dragon mouth shaped fireballs opened a hole and continued to go up until it reached the atmosphere. Itachi decided to take the fight to the roof and took advantage of the hole created by Sasuke's technique. Once outside, he saw the entire compound surrounded by the ethereal black flames of Ametarasu. The stage was already set for this fight as Itachi saw Sasuke emerging from the hole with the cursed seal level two without his wings. The Uchiha brothers stared at each other for a while. Both were slightly panting, but for different reasons. Sasuke's chakra was nearing its end. But Itachi was suffering from his disease. Black clouds started forming above their heads, but Itachi thought nothing of it. Thunder began to echo in the clearing, before heavy rain assaulted the area.

Sasuke was smiling, though as his plan was completed. There was no way Itachi would be able to dodge it. He went through a long series of hand seals, before lifting his arm up. His hand was coated in lightning energy just as a lightning crossed the sky and headed straight towards Sasuke. Quickly using the power of an actual lightning, Sasuke directed it towards the surprised Itachi as he saw a huge dragon made of lightning roaring at him. Sasuke smirked before unleashing the powerful beast.

_Raiton Kirin_

Itachi had only time to use his both Mangenkyou Sharingan before he was hit dead on as well as the compound that they were standing on. In instants, the compound was reduced to nothing, but rocks scattered. Sasuke got up from within the rocks and looked around to search for Itachi's body. After a couple seconds, Sasuke began to smirk in victory as he managed to exert vengeance for his brother's sins. Sasuke was about to take a seat and rest when he saw a purple light beam erupt from the debris a couple meters in front of Sasuke. His chest began to ache as he saw Itachi getting up. His body was terribly damaged because of the attack. Sasuke saw the purple light beam take shape into a creature Sasuke couldn't quite describe. In one hand there was a shield and in the other was a sword.

"That was some technique Sasuke. Who would have thought I had to resort to Susanoo against it? Too bad your chakra is depleted." Itachi soon started walking towards Sasuke.

It didn't take two seconds for Sasuke to realize that he was as good as done against his brother. Instantly, fear began to rule his thoughts at the possibility of his brother ending his life right here and taking his eyes. Everything he went through; every sin he committed to get stronger would be for nothing as he saw his doom approaching step by step. Sasuke thus tried everything he had at his disposal that didn't need chakra. He threw kunai at his brother, but the shield blocked. He even attached paper bombs to the kunai, but to no effect at all. Itachi just kept walking towards Sasuke.

"This shield is impenetrable, Sasuke. This is the end for you. Now I shall take your eyes and will be complete." Sasuke started to back off until he stopped at a destroyed wall with the Uchiha symbol as Itachi's hand was inches from his eyes.

When Itachi stood in front of Sasuke, the young Uchiha's heart was beating than ever before. When his brother poked his forehead instead just like he did when they were younger, Sasuke looked at Itachi's face shocked to see Itachi smiling at him. The creature's sword descended and struck right on the place Sasuke's cursed seal was located. Sasuke thought that he would scream, but the deafening noise he heard wasn't coming from him, but Orochimaru instead. Itachi still maintained the smile as he realized that everything had gone according to his plan.

"I'm sorry for what I put you through Sasuke. I hope that in time you can forgive me for everything." Those were Itachi's last words before falling on the ground, dead.

Sasuke looked at his brother dead on the ground and wondered what Itachi's last words were. His last actions were meant to rid Sasuke of Orochimaru's influence before collapsing on the ground. Something was wrong in the truths that he was told from both Tobi and Itachi. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't for the life of him figure it out. For some reason, as he looked at his dead brother, he didn't feel what he expected to feel upon being able to kill his brother. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he saw Itachi smiling to him like he did just before falling. This Itachi was different from the one that tortured Sasuke every day and every night. Just after taking a soldier pill, he grabbed Itachi's body and vanished from the location using a flame body flicker just as Zetsu emerged from the ground.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

After entering the room, Naruto saw Jiraiya and Kakashi there as well as Shizune. All four of them were looking at Naruto as he walked inside before closing the door.

"You wish to see me, Hokage-sama?" Steeling her resolve after not being called like Naruto usually does, Tsunade nodded.

"Yes Naruto…it has come to our attention, particularly from Jiraiya, that while attaining control from the fox, you managed to contact the images of your parents Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. I thus called you here in order for us to talk about it and to answer any and all questions you see fit to ask from us. Feel free to ask anything you want." Naruto looked at everyone's faces for a while and could tell that the Hokage meant what she was saying. Indeed, the ones in the office knew the most about Naruto's parents. However, Naruto didn't feel at ease. The main reason was that this conversation was occurring only because he snapped with Jiraiya shortly after the confrontation with the fox. This conversation wasn't happening because they wanted to tell him.

"First, I wish to know who I'm talking with. Are you the Hokage now or just Senju Tsunade?"

The first question was intriguing to the others present, but Tsunade smirked.

"If you're worried about questioning my authority or something in that regard, I have stated before you came here that everything discussed in this room is off the record. As for your question, now I am both the Hokage and Senju Tsunade." Naruto nodded and looked at the sannin for a while. Off the record, she said. Surely, the shadows hidden in the room weren't there, but the only ones who had the power to prevent anything from happening were in the room. Jiraiya knew more tricks than any to stop a jinchuuriki's power and Kakashi could use his sharingan to keep Naruto in check. Despite the current assessment, Naruto swore to himself that he wouldn't give in to the fox's urges, even if right now he was battling against the subtle influences.

"First of all, I would like everyone in this room to know how I felt after realizing a couple of things. Four of five years ago, for instance, I was only made aware of my jinchuuriki status because Mizuki-sensei said so minutes after betraying the village. I wondered the entire day if Mizuki didn't do what he did, would someone tell me of the fox inside my gut and the fact that my very father was the one who sealed it inside of me. At the time, Sandaime explained to me that he didn't tell me because he wished for me to have a normal life. Today, though, I realized that it would have been much better if he had told me long before instead of keeping the lie from me. Now, after almost being killed by the fox trying to defeat it and claim its power, I was saved by my mother and my father. Once more, neither of the ones I come to trust in my life told me about it. Because of this, I find myself wondering if my trust was misguided. You claim to care about me and yet you kept information that was vital for me. They were my family."

Everyone remained silent as they listened to the surprisingly eloquent way of speech. None of them were too surprised, though. It seemed that Naruto's impulsive and hyperactive behavior was gone for good. Of course, while they were all proud to see a grown Naruto, none of them were very thrilled to hear that Naruto began to mistrust them. After all, their goal in withholding information from Naruto was meant only for his protection.

"Naruto…" As Hokage, Tsunade was there in Hiruzen's behalf as well. "I won't waste anyone's time here and tell you we understand what you're going through. Indeed, choices were made to keep you from the truth. However, as I'm sure everyone will agree, these choices were made to protect you. As you were well aware, the Yondaime Hokage while considered a hero in Konoha for his actions in the last war; in Iwagakure and even in other villages, he was considered the opposite. You could imagine the lengths these villages would go to kill you if they were aware that the man they hated with a passion had an offspring. I'm not saying that my predecessor's actions were valid. Sensei believed it to be the best course of action to protect you as much as possible from outside interference." Naruto kept silent hearing, before Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"He gave you your mother's name so that no one would know the truth and keep you safe."

"Ok I get that Iwagakure could have attacked me and all that, but let me ask you something. What about my mother? What did she do? If I couldn't know about my father, I could at least know about her, right?" This time, Kakashi spoke.

"Kushina didn't do anything to other villages, but she was captured by Kumogakure when she was a genin. I don't know if she showed you Naruto, but Kushina's chakra was so dense that she could mold it to resemble objects, not to mention that her knowledge in the sealing arts was second to none, since the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out. I'm sorry for keeping everything from you Naruto and I know I wasn't the best jounin-sensei you could hope for." Naruto didn't say anything to that. Kakashi did help him after Sasuke's fight and started him on the path he was now.

"I'm not angry about that Kakashi-sensei. Okay, I wasn't aware that my mother was targeted by Kumo a long time ago. She didn't tell me much. However, I fail to see any reason why I didn't know there was a Uzumaki Clan in the past? I loved Sandaime-jiji with all my heart. He cared about me when no one else would, but he could have given me hints about my mother and our clan. This way, I could know about her and about my family that is now dead. Eventually, I would appreciate news about my father, but I would be more than satisfied in knowing about my mother. I only met her inside the Kyuubi's cage and I wished to spend more time with her. I wished to spend more time hugging her, feeling what it meant to have a mother that cared for you more than anything." Naruto was having trouble containing the tears that were threatening to escape from his eyes. Also, the lack of prompt response from the group seemed to be enough for him to realize that they failed in this regard. Would Naruto's life be much easier if he had known about his mother?

Without a doubt, it would be.

Tsunade sighed for a while and realized that Naruto wasn't searching for a rational explanation here. She approached Naruto and quickly enveloped in a fierce hug.

"You're right Naruto; we failed to tell you about your clan. However, you're wrong in assuming that your entire family is no more." Naruto looked at Tsunade's eyes for a while and the woman could see hope in those deep cerulean eyes. Aside from Jiraiya, Kakashi and Shizune were perplexed about the news of another Uzumaki that was still among the living. "An interesting fact about the Uzumaki Clan is that they were related to the Senju Clan, which means that you and I are related." Naruto's eyes were open wide in realization. As Tsunade took a step back to let the kid breathe somewhat, she saw a faint smile on his face. He was looking down for a while, probably wondering about the new information about his family.

_(Author Note: I know that Nagato is also an Uzumaki, but his identity is not known yet)._

"It's nice to know that I have family, but still the past happened and cannot be changed. Sarutobi-jiji did manage to take care of me and he still had an entire village to run. I know that it was hard for him to take care of everything on his own. I'm not saying I'm okay with everything, but I suppose it's now impossible to change what happened. I understand also that you all wished to clear everything up and I appreciate it. It will take some time but at least I have met my parents and saw them together instead of merely hearing stories about it. Now, my father told me about a house that they lived in. He said that my godfather knew where it was." Jiraiya nodded and gave Naruto a scroll. He was saddened, but could feel that Naruto was more at ease now.

"I would go with you, but I can see you wish to go on your own. The scroll contains the map and the key to the house."

Naruto simply nodded without giving Jiraiya much acknowledgement. The subtle nod was only seen because of the group's experience in the shinobi arts. Naruto simply bowed in respect to the Hokage, before leaving the office. The tension in the room eased with Naruto's departure, but all the tree shinobi involved in the debates found themselves hard pressed to fall back on their respective vices. Tsunade grabbed a bottle of sake underneath her table; Jiraiya vanished towards one of the bathhouses and Kakashi left the room while reading his perverted book. Shizune just left, not saying anything. She wasn't a part of the mess, but she knew one thing. When Naruto was pissed off at something, he sure knew how to keep the tensions high. The woman was seriously considering going to a bar and ordering a couple of drinks.

Once outside, Naruto walked for ten minutes until he arrived at the destination pointed out by the map. When he looked to see the house, he was hard pressed to wonder about the necessity of hiding this place. First of all, it was located in a secluded neighborhood filled with identical twin two-story houses. The population here was rather mixed between civilian and shinobi, so Naruto must have figured that the place was better suited for small shinobi families. In front of the houses, a small playground was located. Thinking nothing of it, Naruto approached the small white gate that separated the little road from a small porch in front of the house. According to the scroll, the key to the house consisted in Naruto's fingertips, actually. As soon as he placed his hands on the fence, though, Naruto sensed something odd with the place. First of all, as he passed the fence, the usual noise outside was reduced somehow, which was strange. According to the scroll, the only fuuinjutsu was located in the fence, but Naruto didn't understand much.

He remembered getting through the place where Soujiro-sensei was located and guessed his father had done the same to protect his house.

Once he opened the door to the house, Naruto was bombarded with the confined air that was begging to be released. As expected, the house was filled with dust on the floor and spider webs on the walls. The furniture was entirely covered in white sheets. Closing the door, Naruto started touching the wall to find a switch, before his hand touched what appeared to be a scroll paper. Instantly, the house lights came alive. Apparently, both his parents were fuuinjutsu users, so it made sense that everything here would work by the use of seals. However, while the house had light, Naruto still needed to clean up the place. Quickly summoning ten kage bunshins and sending them to do the dirty job, the real one began to scout the area for clues left by his parents.

Lifting the sheets from the furniture, Naruto found a few pictures and looked closely at them. He found a picture of his father wearing his Hokage's outfit. There was another picture of his father with his jounin attire, his mother and the Sandaime Hokage. It must have been the time when father was appointed the Yondaime as the picture showed a disgruntled Orochimaru looking at them from the back. Naruto heard from Jiraiya one time that Orochimaru was meant to take on the Yondaime title, but Sandaime thought against in the end and nominated Minato instead. There was another picture of his father posing with three other people. Looking closer, Naruto could see a young Kakashi looking away. Naruto didn't recognize the other two next to his sensei, though. What he knew, though, was that the picture was very similar to the one he had taken with Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. Moving on, Naruto inspected the living room and found it very cozy despite the simple design. He smiled knowing that his parents weren't big fans of fancy stuff either.

Naruto inspected the first floor a bit more until he came across another seal placed on the wall. There were no doors nearby and the lights were on.

Naruto couldn't for the life of him figure out what this seal did. He placed his fingertips either way, wondering what would happen, perhaps it turned on the water supply or something. He definitely wasn't expecting a door to materialize behind the seal and open to him. He saw a wooden made ladder going downstairs. Checking the quality of the wood, Naruto found that some of the steps were missing pieces, but nothing that couldn't be fixed, he reasoned. When the ladder ended, Naruto's eyes threatened to leave their sockets at what he saw. It was a library filled with scrolls and books on a lot of subjects. He found material about pretty much all there was out there about ninja arts, including the art of seals. After inspecting a bit, Naruto found a lone desk inside the library. On the desk, was an open scroll and Naruto took a seat to check it out. Before reading, though, he sensed an odd feeling as he imagined how many times both his mother and his father were here studying. He smiled at the memory before checking the contents on the scroll. He was surprised to see that it was a letter from his parents.

The letter was basically the same thing his parents said when they battled against the fox together.

What surprised him was that the letter had one odd looking seal that, according to the text, it was left by his mother and it contained the secret of her most powerful skill. Just like the other seals around the house, this one activated when Naruto pressed his hand and focused some chakra in it to show a new hidden scroll. The chunnin was flabbergasted when he read the contents of the new scroll. It contained the knowledge of his mother's ability to mold her chakra into chains. He figured he could learn bits and pieces about fuuinjutsu, but Naruto would smack himself in the head if he didn't learn his mother's ability. It did sound more like his style as Naruto was more of a close range fighter. Whispering prays of thank you to his parents, Naruto summoned even more kage bunshins to go over the contents of the library. He set aside one clone to do something for him outside the house, though.

* * *

**===Fifteen minutes later===**

The clone managed to bring Yuugao inside the house. The Anbu captain was thrilled to be with her boyfriend as he went through this. She was inside the library as well and immediately drooled at the prospect of reading material about kenjutsu. Naruto looked at Yuugao with a fond smile while going through the different knowledge in the library. All of a sudden, something popped in Naruto's mind and his eyes began to water a bit. Yuugao noticed it immediately and looked at Naruto for a while.

"What happened?" Naruto said nothing for a while, before getting up from the chair.

"Could you follow me for a moment?"

Yuugao nodded as they climbed the ladders towards the living room and then another ladder to the second level. Yuugao was at a loss for what was going on, as they entered in one of the rooms. As soon as she saw the crib in the middle of the room, she understood completely. Instantly, the image of both the Yondaime Hokage and the woman from the picture appeared around the crib smiling while playing with a baby Naruto with whisker marks. Yuugao gently embraced her boyfriend as he stared at the crib in front of him. There were no words that she could say to him now. All she could do was be there for him all the way. Eventually, Naruto turned to look at Yuugao with a smile on his face, despite the tears that were falling non-stop.

He was back home after all.

* * *

**===At the old Uchiha Compound===**

When Zetsu and Tobi inspected the battlefield, neither of them were able to find Sasuke or Itachi's body. It was something Tobi couldn't have predicted, since based on the level of destruction and heavy usage of the chakra, it would seem that both bodies were destroyed. Sasuke going as far as to die together with his brother was unheard of. The same could be said for Itachi. Tobi's sharingan eyes began to spin madly showing how angry he was that things haven't gone like he expected it to.

"I want you to scout this entire area and I find traces of them."

The plant like shinobi said nothing and went back to the ground, leaving an infuriated Tobi alone, before the man vanished once more.

* * *

**Author Note**

Ok many different choices, huh?

Who saw this coming? Not even I did, to tell the truth. I came up with this idea when I finished writing the fight scene (which is a carbon copy of Kishimoto's work, I know.). For those who are wondering about why Itachi said that he was the one that came up with the idea of killing the Uchiha Clan, it was just an elaborate twist to turn Sasuke's hatred away from Konoha and focus only on him. Because of this, a few changes will occur. Next chapter, I'll do something that will definitely shock all of you.

See ya then.


	22. Long lost friend

**Author Note**

Hi there folks and welcome to another chapter of Regret.

Indeed, the choices from last chapter made everything different, huh. The best part of it all was that as far as the Uchiha's fight was concerned, I changed very little about what really happened. Instead of Sasuke fighting Itachi first and then hearing the truth from Tobi, Sasuke heard the truth first, thus giving him a different perspective when facing Itachi after hearing the truth. Because of this change in events, Sasuke will be making different choices especially regarding his alliances from now on. Also with Naruto getting access to his parent's house and extensive library of knowledge, which techniques will he incorporate to his repertoire, aside from Kushina's chakra chains?

Perhaps new element manipulation exercises to further increase the strength behind his techniques or even seals to make his staff become harder than steel.

Oh my god, I am getting excited.

Let us begin.

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Long lost friend**

**Beta: Kyuubi123**

* * *

Tobi and Zetsu tried searching everywhere for Sasuke's whereabouts, but to no avail.

Both were frustrated, because they happened to be able to find everyone everywhere. Zetsu would use his special ability to travel below ground and find his prey. Tobi's sharingan allowed him to shift time and space on himself, allowing him to be in one place one second and the other second in another place. Despite it all, Sasuke's location still eluded them. Tobi knew the young Uchiha to be quite fast on his feet, but as far as Tobi was concerned, Sasuke could be the Yondaime Hokage in disguise and it would not matter. For some reason, Sasuke managed to find some place throughout the elemental nations that they could not find. Tobi considered using his knowledge on the kid's way of thinking, but realized that he had only found Sasuke, because he was busy fighting against the nine-tails jinchuuriki. Sasuke, thus, could be anywhere right now.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

Naruto and Yuugao remained a few minutes simply staring at the crib that Naruto was supposed to sleep in long ago.

Neither of them appeared bothered by the sudden dark clouds that blocked the moonlight outside. The gentle wind breeze gave way to strong gusts that were easily able to punish the extensive forest that surrounded the hidden village. No sooner had the wind picked up; the first few drops of water hit the residence's roof. From this point on, lightning illuminated the black skies and a torrential rain fell upon Konoha. Naruto and Yuugao looked at one another for a while, both thinking about the same thing. The heavy rain outside pretty much convinced them that it would be ill advised to go outside and towards their respective apartments, which meant that this would be their first night in the house where Naruto was supposed to grow up in. The couple looked at each other's eyes with a smile on their faces. There was no need for words. The couple started hugging and simply stood there for a while, not moving from their position.

To Naruto, this very moment seemed even more special because of where they were now. Yuugao felt the connection as well as she felt Naruto's lone teardrop reach her right shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Naruto simply nodded with a smile on his face. His ocean blue eyes were even more mesmerizing when Naruto was inches away from crying.

"Couldn't be better actually; I finally found about my parents and you're here with me; like I said, couldn't be better." Yuugao smiled and caressed his hair for a while.

"So, seeing as how we will be here for the night, what do you feel like doing?" Yuugao asked, already knowing the answer to her question. She remembered the number of clones her boyfriend left at the library to look at everything there. She was also eager to return there and noticed some old kenjutsu styles that were lost in history. Naruto's clones were dispelling by the minute with important information that would aid Naruto greatly. The couple then marched towards the library, having to choose the top wall to walk through, since the ladder was rotten due to time. Naruto needed to fix that sometime. Unfortunately, neither of them was an earth user. Yuugao had water and lightning as elements, but she focused only on water elements. Once inside the library, Yuugao went immediately to the sword arts section while Naruto grabbed a black scroll that was on the table. According to the memory, the scroll contained specific seals that were meant to be used in conjunction with weapons.

Remembering how much of a pain it was when his staff broke in the middle of a fight or training, Naruto could really use these seals and place them on his staff to harden the metal. Naruto's clone memory was even reading on two rather interesting seals that could make his weapon not only indestructible, but also very deadly. The first one was actually a seal design created by seal masters of Uzushiogakure that were later sold to Iron Country's craftsmen in exchange for unlimited weapon supply. The kanji absorbs chakra from the weapon user in small amounts and incorporates said chakra to the metal, hardening it. The scroll said that the user needed to constantly channel chakra to the seal, but Naruto was hardly concerned about chakra shortage. Before he absorbed the fox's chakra, he already had more than most kages placed together. The other seal was actually even more interesting as it absorbed wind chakra into the weapon.

This way, while in the midst of battle, Naruto would not need to focus wind chakra into the staff, since the weapon would have it already. He could use his other element at the same time.

It was times such as these that Naruto appreciated Jiraiya's training, as the pervert would always tell him to practice the basics of fuuinjutsu. Although he knew little about the sealing arts counting the creation of explosive tags and storage seals, Naruto also knew how to draw the seal and activate it. He only needed to copy the design that appeared on the scroll. Grabbing a few blank scrolls, Naruto got to practice the seal design for a while, before he was content to try it on his staff. His mind did not necessarily understand the fundament behind these seals as Naruto's patience for such an art was small at best. He could only replicate an already created design and activate it. Once he was finished, Naruto inspected the two seals and placed the scroll near to compare the designs. This actually was the first lesson he learned from Jiraiya in the sealing arts. Before activating it, always perform double checks on your work.

The memory of drawing an explosive tag wrong was still fresh in his mind.

Naruto, then, tried the first seal and simply molded chakra throughout the staff. The black ink of the seal started glowing with the presence of chakra and immediately absorbed it. Naruto knew that it worked as the staff was heavier all of a sudden. Now smirking at the possibility of this new staff meeting flesh, Naruto began to mold wind chakra throughout the staff, once more mesmerized as the second seal glowed as well, absorbing it. Yuugao was busy checking on a rather thick book, when she suddenly felt a small wind current inside the library, but thought nothing of it and returned her focus on the book. She didn't get to see Naruto's content expression that he was able to include two new seal designs to his memory of seals. Even if Naruto had yet to learn the theory behind seals, the chunnin had something called photographic memory.

He could replicate any seal after seeing it.

With the staff done with, Naruto now moved on to the next set of skills, his mother's chakra chains. According to the scroll, Uzumaki Kushina's chakra had a different quality to it than the others. Her chakra was much more potent than the others, allowing her to mold it outside her body and form objects with it. The chains were actually her choice as it benefitted her close range style of fighting. The chain uses were varied, from impenetrable walls to unstoppable attacks, coming in quick succession. Naruto even saw it in action against the Kyuubi and saw how the chains were able to hold the gigantic fox. Naruto wondered if his chakra had the same qualities as his mother, seeing as he was a direct descendant of Kushina. He didn't know if Kushina was the only one in the Uzumaki Clan to have this ability, but he figured that this scroll was left here for a reason, so his mother believed him capable of learning it, even if not to her level.

If he ended up learning it, then Naruto will have a whole new style of fighting in close range, using both his bo-staff and his mother's chains.

"_**You ignorant fool…." **_Naruto was surprised at the voice echoing in his head, before he narrowed his eyebrows.

"_What did you say?" _

"_**I don't believe I stuttered, brat. I don't believe you remember what happened when you hugged your parents?" **__The lack of an answer received a snort from the fox. __**"I thought so; you're right…your mother left you the scroll containing those annoying chains for you to use it. However, you couldn't hope to use the chains before her appearance inside your mindscape. Her chakra happened to be store inside the seal holding me in captivity and was released inside your body when she appeared and saved your sorry little ass from becoming my dinner." **__Despite it all, Naruto had to roll his eyes at the fox's words. It appeared that the creature still wished to rile him up from time to time. _

"_So you're saying that her chakra is now a part of mine? But I dont feel any different?" _

"_**Why do I waste my time talking to you brainless meat sack? Since you came back after stealing my chakra, you have yet to use large amounts of your chakra. You will realize that your ninjutsu now is much more potent than before. I won't explain more, because the simple task of talking to you annoys me to no end." **__Naruto would have said the feeling was mutual, but he knew the fox was just repeating the same speech by riling him up. Despite it all, he felt that he should say thank you to his only inmate. _

"_I appreciate the help, fur ball." Naruto smiled as he heard the fox growling at the nickname. _

With a smile, Naruto opened his eyes and read the scroll in fine detail. He needed to first manifest the chakra chains. The scroll happened to be quite extensive as Naruto read through everything with a broad smile on his face. The writing itself was different than the other books and scrolls. Naruto now understood that he had inherited his mother's personality and even way of thinking. Naruto could practically see his mother writing all the creative uses for her chain with a predatory smirk on her face, scaring everyone around her. The chunnin even flinched once or twice as Kushina pretty much put all her experience in the scroll, detailing how she used the chains to attack men's private parts. When he finished reading through it all, Naruto felt that he knew a lot more about his mother than the time when she spoke to him inside the seal. He looked up suddenly when he heard a slight noise coming from the aisle where Yuugao was currently.

As soon as he got up to check on his girlfriend, Naruto smiled upon seeing that the woman was asleep right next to a huge pile of books.

"_Poor Yuugao-chan, must be exhausted, since she was still working when I called her." _Naruto figured that he could leave the clones there reading the material about the chakra chains as well as advanced water manipulation exercises while he placed Yuugao on a more suitable place than the floor. As far as wind was concerned, Naruto was already a master in the art, finishing the two steps required to complete the program. Soujiro-sensei even taught him a couple of exercises used in Suna for wind users as well. Naruto was surprised to see some material about the Nidaime Hokage's mastery of water techniques. He remembered Tsunade saying that the Senju Clan was a distant cousin to the Uzumaki Clan, so it made sense. Once out of the library, Naruto carried Yuugao upstairs and passed by what would have been his room. He walked towards the room that was at the end of the hallway. His heart was pounding like crazy as he figured that this room belonged to his parents.

Once inside, Naruto's arms almost dropped Yuugao on the ground at the sight of the Yondaime's classic robe on display inside the closet. To this day, a part of Naruto, the kid that still screamed to the heavens about becoming the next Hokage, couldn't believe that his most idolized shinobi in the world happened to be his father. He quickly placed Yuugao on the master bed located in the middle of the room, before covering her with the white sheets that were left there. He figured that they would be quite dirty, but he wouldn't be able to clean them now. Tomorrow, he would leave this entire house spotless as he couldn't live inside a house filled with dust.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

Uchiha Sasuke was on the ground panting for breath right next to his brother's dead corpse.

He wondered if his choice was the right one to take. The stories didn't add up, he questioned. Ever since the fateful event of his clan being murdered, Sasuke had a very firm notion of who Itachi was. Even after Tobi explained to him that Itachi did all he did to save the village, Sasuke was still skeptical about his brother being a nice guy. When they fought and Itachi demonstrated his intentions of taking his eyes, Sasuke believed that his previous conception was the right one. When the battle was over and Sasuke took a closer look to his brother's smile, he began to question everything that he believed thus far. Whatever it was, he just didn't want anything to do with the man wearing that orange mask. He needed to sort things out for himself, but he also knew that there was no safe place to hide from them. With this in consideration, Sasuke chose to head straight to the only place no one ever believed he would be right now.

The secret passageway built by the Uchiha Clan under their compound.

The passageway was built taking everything in consideration. It wouldn't be an escape route from a hidden village, if any earth user could sense a shinobi down here. Throughout the passageway's walls, were chakra suppressor seals that kept anyone from knowing what happened in the tunnels. Of course, it was a double-edged sword as the seals blocked the usage of chakra from the inside as well. If for instance, either Tobi or Zetsu found him here, Sasuke wouldn't be able to use chakra to save his life. Looking to his destination, Sasuke had to force his eyes a bit to see the darkened path. He remembered passing through here as a kid, so he imagined that the passageway would end in about five minutes at a sedate pace. Once more grabbing his brother's body and throwing it over his shoulder, Sasuke ran once more towards the end of the tunnel.

The Uchiha still wondered about what would await him from the other side of the passageway, but he figured that he could mask his presence inside Konoha until he could ponder things through.

* * *

**===Next day===**

Naruto had awoken at his parent's room the next day with a smile on his face as the first rays of sunlight illuminated the room.

As expected, Yuugao was already up and about, fixing her Anbu armor. She gave one smile at him followed by a small wink, before covering her face with the neko mask. Naruto got up as well and hugged her from behind, before Yuugao could vanish in a shunshin, surprising the Anbu Captain. Such display of affection surprised the woman, but she merely smiled at her boyfriend. She could feel nothing but warmth in Naruto's arms and even embraced his arms, trying to absorb as much warmth as possible from Naruto. The couple stood like this for a while, before Naruto broke the hug and took off the mask. He couldn't kiss the mask after all.

"It would be nice to be kissed like this every day, Naruto-kun." Naruto merely nodded, not even bothered by the indirect hint of moving together. He was thinking of asking her this anyway.

"It sure would, I guess that I'll be moving in here now. It would be incredible if I had your company here as well." Since the mask was off, Naruto saw the happy smile on his girlfriend's face.

If Yuugao had more time until she had to be at Anbu HQ, she would jump on Naruto right now. Instead, she just hugged him once more.

"I will Naruto-kun. We will talk about this more later, but I certainly will. Oh and we can also have our first run here tonight, what you say, Naruto-kun?" Yuugao ended the sentence whispering close to his ear. She got what she was hoping for when Naruto suddenly lost his breath at the implication. As if to give the chunnin a preview on what tonight will be like, Yuugao gently pushed Naruto towards the bed while swinging her hips slowly for him to savor every moment of it. She smiled as she saw how excited her boyfriend was at her movements. When Naruto was close to the bed, Yuugao placed a fierce kiss on his lips, pushing him to lie down as she was on top of him, kissing his lips and caressing his hair. Naruto was already melting in desire by now, when she left his lips and began to work the area near his ears. She even licked his neck for a while, before stopping close to his ear.

"A small preview, Naruto-kun; until tonight" Naruto couldn't help but tremble at this statement as Yuugao vanished in a shunshin, leaving him showing how excited he was to the room wall.

Yuugao left still not certain if she should have finished what she started right there. After all, her power of seduction was heavily dependent on her past experiences with Naruto and she wanted nothing more than to call in sick this morning. Naruto, for his part, concluded that the morning shower would have to be a cold one as he was scheduled to meet with his squad in half an hour for training. Like Yuugao, his mind wouldn't leave him alone for a while.

After the shower, Naruto got into his chunnin outfit and left the room towards the library when he believed his clones were still at it.

When he got there, though, Naruto saw all his clones were reading something. The real one could see how tired they were as their eyes were slowly closing, due to the lack of chakra sustaining them for longer periods. The amusement stopped, however, when he realized the outcome of so many clones dispelling at the same time and prepared for the onslaught. Like he expected, all ten clones vanished and the information returned to the real one. Naruto felt that each memory was like a speeding train on a collision route towards him. When the last memory came, Naruto almost fainted right there. With a nasty headache, Naruto used the desk inside the library for support, before melting on top of the chair for a while. He should have released some of the clones before going to sleep yesterday. As he massaged his temples, Naruto went through the assorted memories, hoping to catch up on what the clones were reading before being dispelled.

Naruto remembered reading about water manipulation exercises and a diary of someone that accompanied Senju Tobirama during his reign as the Nidaime.

He read about fuuinjutsu and even techniques on how to disrupt created seals, though the clone's understanding of the material was limited. There was one clone that picked up a scroll on Genjutsu for some reason. Why the heck would he be interested in genjutsu other than learning how to dispel it? It turned out that A-ranked illusions worked differently than lower ranked ones, in terms of chakra consumption. Naruto always had trouble with ninja arts that requires little chakra to perform. Also, higher ranking illusions affected an entire area, as opposed to only affecting the opponent. With this knowledge, the clone even got to read on some techniques created by a woman named Senju Touka, though Naruto didn't know who she was. Sending a wave of chakra all around him, Naruto could for instance, with the appropriate hand seals, send everyone into a deep slumber.

(Author Note: You all know which technique I'm talking about.)

Getting up from the chair, now feeling much better, Naruto left the library and walked out of the house. Quickly he created ten clones once more and sent them to a secluded training ground and practice what they learned in the library. He wouldn't have the time to do so right now. He was a little bit late for his meeting. As he passed through the old Uchiha Clan compound, Naruto saw something from the corner of his eyes that looked suspicious. The Uchiha Clan grounds were abandoned ever since Sasuke left the village. There shouldn't be anyone there. Quickly approaching the walls, his eyes widened when he saw Sasuke there carrying what appeared to be Itachi's body. Sasuke appeared to be on the verge of collapsing, before he threw Itachi's corpse on the ground and collapsed as well. Naruto took two steps behind and summoned another clone, this time with as much chakra as if he had summoned ten clones.

"Go to the meeting in my place and avoid receiving too much damage." The clone nodded, before Naruto looked at Sasuke once more.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

As soon as Sasuke left the passageway and entered the Uchiha Clan grounds, he looked around to see if someone spotted him. It appeared that no one was around as Sasuke crossed the open field towards what used to be his parent's house. Looking at it for a while, a sense of nostalgia hit the young Uchiha. He remembered his young days playing at the garden with his big brother, who happened to be on his shoulders right now. His entire face was covered with sweat as his stamina was slowly succumbing to the strain of carrying Itachi's body while at the same time escaping from Tobi and Zetsu. As soon as he opened the door to their old house, Sasuke dropped on the ground with Itachi on his shoulders. His chakra was slowly coming back to him, but he was so tired right now.

Now that he managed to come here without getting noticed, Sasuke wanted nothing more than to sleep. He closed his eyes slowly and let his body fall.

"Imagine my surprise when I wake up this fine morning and see you here, teme." Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as he instinctively grabbed his kusanagi and immediately attacked Naruto. Naruto, though, parried with his staff and sent Sasuke back to the ground, panting from exertion. Sasuke looked at Naruto and cursed his presence here right now. Who would have thought that the damn dobe would catch him of all people? A fighter he may be, and a good one at that, but Naruto was no good at sensing others. At least, not as far as Sasuke's knowledge was concerned. "Relax teme, unlike you, I wouldn't lower myself into picking on someone who's seconds away from exhaustion." Naruto was already over the shock of seeing Itachi's dead corpse right in front of him.

"I see you reached your ambition." Sasuke looked at Naruto with irritation.

"What the hell are you talking about, dobe?" Sasuke was already formulating plans in his mind when he heard Naruto's comment. For some reason, he figured that Naruto would move to capture him.

"When we introduced ourselves to Kakashi-sensei, you said you didn't have a dream, but an ambition to kill a certain man." If Sasuke was surprised that Naruto remembered that, he wasn't showing it. He merely looked at his brother's dead body for a while. Naruto found it surprising that Sasuke didn't answer. Sasuke sighed in dismay and then narrowed his eyebrows, before turning abruptly to Naruto, wondering when the dobe would move for the capture. However, Naruto just stood there unmoving and from the look on his face, it appeared that the damn dobe was smiling at him. _To this day, he mocks me with that smile of his._

"Why are you just standing there? Go on; take me in custody, dobe. Fulfill your duty as a Konoha shinobi." Unlike Sasuke expected, Naruto merely snorted.

"I can do that any time I want, Sasuke. If you may recall, if it wasn't for the Akatsuki, you'd be in a jail cell right now." Back then, Sasuke didn't have the Mangenkyou, but right now Sasuke doubted that Naruto showed everything he could do in that fight. Sasuke saw that Naruto was looking at Itachi, before looking back at him once more. "Why did you come here, teme and not with Akatsuki?" As usual, any conversation with Sasuke was difficult, ever since they were a part of the same genin team. However, this time, Sasuke's dismissal of his questions was not due to the teme's act of superiority; that much he could tell. For instance, Sasuke had the same look Naruto had when he learned the truth about his parents. Moving swiftly, before Sasuke even registered, Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, earning the Uchiha's attention.

"What do you want, dobe? If you're not going to capture me then stop wasting my time." Naruto was serious this time.

"You're in doubt, aren't you teme?" This time, Sasuke shot him a murderous look. "Something wrong about your brother? You keep looking at him as if expecting an answer to something."

"Shut up, dobe, you don't know what you're talking about." Naruto knew better than to even listen and simply stared at the Uchiha.

"I do know what I'm talking about. Just yesterday, I found out that I wasn't just a simple orphan and that I had parents who cared for me. Yesterday, I was told that the Yondaime Hokage chose me as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, not because I happened to be born on that fateful day. Yesterday, I was told the reason why the truth was kept from me." Sasuke looked at Naruto and also saw a lot of himself in Naruto's wondering eyes. Also, if what Naruto said was true, then he too grew up with misleading information. "You see, Sasuke, I understand what you're going through. In fact, now that I think about it, I believe that if given different circumstances, I could have very well become the missing-nin instead of you." Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at Naruto, wondering why he said those words right now. He wondered if he could share his questions with the dobe.

Naruto smiled as he saw that Sasuke wouldn't trust him with anything if he wasn't willing to do the same in exchange.

"I do know that I've given you half answers here, so I'll tell you what has happened to me. Yesterday, I was told the name of my parents. My mother was Uzumaki Kushina, heir of the now extinguished Uzumaki Clan that used to reside in Whirlpool Country. My father was Namikaze Minato." The name alone didn't ring any bells with Sasuke, but that only lasted for about a second, before his throat became dry. Who would have thought that the worst student in class and troublemaker was not only the last living descendant of a clan but also son of the legendary Yellow Flash of Konohagakure. Despite his first surprise, Sasuke suddenly felt like kicking himself for not seeing the resemblance.

"The Yondaime was your father?"

Naruto nodded, amused by Sasuke's sudden loss of words. One would imagine the superiority complex of being the Fourth's son.

"Yeah, he was. That was also the reason why he sealed the Kyuubi no Yoko in me as he couldn't ask anyone to sacrifice their child for the burden; made my live a living hell nonetheless, but that's the past really." Suddenly, the question marks in Sasuke's head about his life history vanished. Naruto kept talking, though. "I was never told because my father had enemies all throughout Iwa and Kumogakure and even the other villages as well. They feared that I would suffer assassination attempts if the world found out about it; never mind that up to yesterday, I wasn't even told about him being my father. So, without knowing anything and being led to believe otherwise, I can tell you that I know what you're going through, teme." Sasuke found himself incapable of negating it. His head nodded by instinct. His mind was still boggled about what he had just heard.

"I have told you my story, Sasuke. Because of my precious people, I was able to put it behind me and became a better shinobi because of it."

"You're still a dobe, though." Naruto smiled at the now non-lethal jab. He was expecting that from Sasuke.

"Yeah and you're a teme. I would have to punch you in the face if you started treating me differently." This time, Sasuke snorted. "Now; what about you?" Sasuke nodded at the fair game.

"I haven't told anyone about this, but when Itachi murdered the entire clan, he turned to me and used an S-ranked illusion called Tsukyomi, granted to him by the Mangenkyou Sharingan. He said to me that I wasn't worth killing and told me to hate him and only when my hatred was strong enough, could I kill him. I did just that, training every day with the memory of Itachi saying these words to me. My hatred for him became second nature to me and it has sheltered me throughout the hardships in my life. My preconception of him changed when we fought and the Akatsuki rescued me. Itachi was actually ordered to kill the Uchiha Clan by the Sandaime Hokage." Now it was Naruto was speechless.

The Sandaime wasn't his favorite person at the moment, since it was he who decided against telling Naruto about his parents.

But outright ordering Itachi to kill the clan was too much.

"The clan was planning to revolt against the village and it would lead to a civil war if nothing was done. The Sandaime Hokage, I believe, tried to negotiate, but he wasn't able to avoid it. The only way to avoid the death of many was to kill the Uchiha Clan and Itachi was the one to do it, knowing that he would be branded as a criminal for life. At the time, I was downright furious at Konoha and wanted nothing more than to see it burned to the ground." Naruto nodded at the thought, too engrossed to realize what Sasuke meant by this. Sasuke also was lost in his mind to realize that he had just confessed his previous intentions of destroying the village to a Konoha ninja. "I found Itachi hoping to settle everything with him about what happened. However, as soon as he heard what I had to say, he surprised me by saying that he had personally volunteered to kill the Uchiha Clan. We fought soon afterward and I won, but his last words to me were that he was sorry for everything he had done to me and hoped that I would forgive him." Naruto found himself respecting Itachi now that he realized the truth behind it all.

Sasuke couldn't have, because he was so lost in hatred, but Naruto understood.

"I know you probably won't like this, but I find myself respecting the damn bastard even more now."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, threatening to kill him for his words.

"Say it one more word and I'll kill you, dobe. Itachi murdered my entire clan." Naruto nodded.

"From what you said, Itachi volunteered to kill the Uchiha Clan, but I believe he didn't do it out of some evil intent, but rather to avoid bloodshed in the village. And when you came and told him what you wished to do, he knew what he had to do to take away your hatred for Konoha and focus it entirely on him." Sasuke looked at the dobe for a while and then towards the man who killed his clan. Could it be that Itachi was actually focusing the clan's bad history on him and him alone? Itachi used the threat of capturing Sasuke's eyes to lure his hatred away from Konoha and focus only on him? For what purpose, though? To protect Konohagakure? Naruto saw Sasuke's puzzled expression and concluded. "Your brother was a hero, Sasuke and he even protected you from all of this bad blood history." Naruto simply nodded at the conclusion and gave his back to Sasuke. "I don't know what you wish to do from now on. However you came here, so I believe you found Konoha to be a safe haven for you right now. I recommend you do it yourself. Who knows perhaps the Godaime will be lenient regarding this issue."

There really was nothing for Naruto to do there, since it was clear that Sasuke needed some time alone.

He would leave a clone here just in case the teme tried something funny once more. What he could do, though, was talk to a special someone who would be interested in knowing what just happened right now. Naruto stopped for a second to receive the memory from the clone he sent in his place to train with his new squad. It was good that he was going to meet this person anyhow. He knew that Jiraiya would see past his clone, because unlike the real one, the clone had the tendency of dodging strikes rather than meeting the threat head on. What was surprising was actually how long it took for Jiraiya to realize that the real Naruto was not among them. Either the pervert had lost his touch or Naruto had gotten better at fooling others. Either way, Naruto was not keen on waiting for an Anbu to come and summon him to the Hokage's Office.

* * *

**===Hokage's Office===**

Quickly getting inside the building and into Tsunade's office, Naruto was not surprised to see Kakashi and Jiraiya there as well. He also noticed a certain purple haired Anbu hiding on the shadows and wondered why Yuugao's team was chosen to protect the Hokage. Protecting the Hokage was the job of a select team that would never leave the Hokage's side. Somehow, his actions worried his girlfriend as well. Naruto's mind could venture a guess as to what was passing through her mind right now, since she was sending a little bit of killing intent his way. He actually felt insulted at the accusation.

"You came here rather quickly, Naruto. I was just telling an Anbu to come get you." Naruto smiled at the people present. They seem pissed at him right now.

"Yeah, I figured that Ero-sensei wouldn't be tricked by my clone, though I was surprised it took him this long." Jiraiya frowned at the joke, but contrary to Naruto's stipulations, he did not join in. "Okay, I won't beat around the bush here. I happened to find an interesting someone this morning that warranted my undivided attention." As expected, he felt Yuugao's killing intent risen, making him rather uncomfortable right now. He could feel her sword practically scratching his jugular right now. "After leaving my parent's house, I passed through the old Uchiha Compound and I was surprised to find the one and only Uchiha Sasuke walking out of some hidden passageway carrying a dead Uchiha Itachi on his shoulder."

The silence that fell on the room was enough for Naruto to hear his own breathing. It was certainly a relief as Yuugao was simply too stunned at the revelation to be mad at him.

"Care to repeat that Naruto? I would believe that one of my chunnin would have reported this instantly, so that we could apprehend Sasuke." Tsunade was looking at him with quite an intimidating stare.

"Yeah, I really should have done that, huh? I was shocked at first to see him here in Konoha and even more shocked to see a dead Itachi with him as well." The stares have not diminished, so he believed it was wise to dissuade them of their worry. "Relax; I have placed a clone to keep Sasuke some company. I was actually about to come here and report the interesting conversation I had with him when I received the clones' memory." Naruto then proceeded to tell the ones present about his conversation with Sasuke, especially the part when Naruto revealed an S-ranked secret to a missing-nin. Naruto explained that he had to give something for Sasuke to trust him, so he did not regret it. In the end, Naruto was able to hear six sighs at the same time. He recognized four of them, coming from the Hokage, Jiraiya, Kakashi and Yuugao. The other two, he guessed, came from the rest of the Anbu's team. In reality, they were like Yuugao's family, so they knew a lot about whom their captain was dating. In all honesty, they should not be surprised.

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto?" Tsunade was massaging her temples right now, meaning that he gave her another headache. People were actually counting how many and betting at Tsunade's breaking point.

"Well, figuring as I was able to extract a lot of information out of Sasuke, I figure I could get away with not reporting his presence in Konoha. Anyway, I was hoping to ask if we could work something out for the teme. I bet that he would be a great advantage against the likes of Akatsuki." The ones present were already aware of what the chunnin was hoping for. However, simply relying on the traitor was such a farfetched idea that Tsunade wondered how long it would take for the Raikage to explode on her saying how she ever thought the alliance could rely on traitors. There was simply no way Tsunade could allow Sasuke to fight alongside them. Simply not throwing him into jail was giving him too much already.

"Naruto, I know you wish to believe in Sasuke being an ally, but" Tsunade was already speaking when Naruto interrupted her.

"It's nothing like that, actually. I know that Sasuke is strong and can give Akatsuki a run for their money. I was not aiming for simply forgiving his sins. I have been looking into some scrolls in my parent's home since yesterday and I found an interesting seal, called the slave seal. This seal links Sasuke's chakra to another person. This other person has ultimate control over Sasuke's chakra, allowing the person to stop Sasuke's chakra flow completely. If Sasuke ever decides to escape or harm either one of us, we can use the seal and block him from using chakra." Jiraiya knew about this seal. It was created by the Uzumaki Clan to use in prisoners, though the one he remembered working closer to its name. The prisoner was stripped completely of his or her chakra and any attempt to override the seal would cause unbearable pain. He could see where Naruto was coming from, but even so he believed that Sasuke did not deserve to be anywhere except behind bars for what he had done.

"Even if Sasuke could help against the organization, it wouldn't bode well with the alliance if Konoha showed such leniency towards criminals."

Naruto nodded, realizing the situation.

"I see; though we could ask their opinion. I happen to know that the slave seal can be used by more than one person, so if I say for instance that both Jiraiya and Kakashi-sensei controls Sasuke, then we have nothing to worry about." Tsunade pondered for a while, when the door suddenly opened. The Raikage and the Kazekage had just entered her office, for their meeting prior to the battle. The party from Konoha would not put it past them that both kages overheard their conversation.

"Naruto, how strong is this seal you had just described?"

Gaara asked, while the Raikage just crossed his arms. Tsunade would be remiss if she did not show her protest.

"Kazekage-dono, Uchiha Sasuke is a wanted criminal of Konoha, we can't expect to simply pardon him and allow him free roam."

Gaara was stoic as usual, but only nodded at Tsunade's protest.

"I and Raikage-dono understand that Hokage-dono, however we agree with Naruto. We need the best of the best and Sasuke no doubt has the power to back them into a corner. If what Naruto said was right and the slave seal could be applied to more than one person, we can create measures to keep Sasuke from doing anything that could harm the villages and the alliance. He could be in Jiraiya-sama's team as his fire techniques together with Naruto and Jyuukaze's wind techniques would be unstoppable. The seal can be applied to both Jiraiya and Naruto." Tsunade still looked like she wanted to protest, but her only worry was now non-existent as the alliance had decided as such, not Konoha alone.

"Okay then, Uchiha Sasuke will be a part of Jiraiya's squad, though I will personally see if both seals are perfectly aligned here." Naruto nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"Naruto, what about the clone keeping tabs with Sasuke?"

"So far, nothing has happened. He keeps dispelling himself before summoning other bunshin to send me information. Sasuke was very exhausting when he arrived. He is now asleep inside his old house." Tsunade nodded, before sending Jiraiya and Naruto to bring Sasuke here for the sealing procedure. Seeing as Sasuke was out like a light, it wouldn't be hard to give him a sedative and work on the seal. Naruto needed Sasuke to fight alongside them, but at least they had a backup plan if the Uchiha became difficult about this. In no time, the deed was done as Sasuke's exhausted frame didn't even register what happened to him, as he was sound asleep. The only pain in the ass was that Naruto took some time convincing everyone that Itachi's body would have to remain there, or else Sasuke would suspect that something wrong happened.

* * *

**===the next day===**

Naruto was busy doing some training with his staff, going through the katas he had practiced since he left with Jiraiya on his training trip. He had to fight all his urges not to use his mother's chains right now, because he was afraid that someone would see him use it. He wanted it to be a secret for now and use it as a surprise attack when the timing was right. Aside from the chains, Naruto's ninjutsu had improved greatly, because of the exercises he found inside the library. He now had more control over his water element. He couldn't replicate the Nidaime's level, of course, but he managed a level of control that he wasted very little chakra and still packed quite a water punch. The library also contained some nice evasive water techniques like the mizu bunshin and the mizu kawarimi that Naruto now could use. It always irked him when S-ranked opponents played with their opponents, by using these low-ranked techniques. Now he understood why as it actually requires very little chakra and still keep up the threat.

Last but not least was his ability to replicate the knowledge of seals located in the library.

The seal placed on Sasuke was spot on and even a seal master such as Jiraiya was impressed at the attention to detail. Sasuke now was linked both him and the perverted sannin. Jiraiya had even given the idea of placing a tracking seal on Sasuke, should the elusive Uchiha escape from their grasp. It happened to be one more seal that Naruto learned as he observed the pervert's work of art. Naruto was beginning to believe that learning the theory behind his work wasn't such a bad idea after all. He stopped his movements as he heard steps from behind. This training ground happened to be close to the Uchiha Compound, so Sasuke wouldn't risk his exposure by coming here.

"Good morning, teme. Had a good night sleep?" Sasuke frowned as he made his presence known to Naruto. When he woke up this morning, Sasuke was unnerved as nothing seemed out of place.

"What did you do dobe?" Naruto looked at him with a curious look.

"Whatever do you mean, teme? I didn't do anything, other than let you sleep." Sasuke frowned once more.

"I'm not stupid like you dobe. I know that everything is in place and that's precisely why I know that you did something." Naruto smirked at the accusation, but Sasuke didn't have anything to accuse him of.

"I knew you're too paranoid Sasuke, but I didn't do anything. Now, seeing as you are up and full of strength, I was hoping to talk to you about something important." Sasuke crossed his arms, allowing Naruto to continue. Somehow, Naruto thought he would listen to more taunting, but shrugged it off. "Akatsuki has remained active for far too long now and we are moving to put an end to them. Konoha, Kumo and Sunagakure have formed an alliance to send the village's best against them and we can surely use your help in defeating them. I know that if we fought them together, we can surely kick some S-ranked ass. What do you say?" Sasuke kept looking at Naruto with stoic expression on his face as he pondered on the thought. Surely, his past actions wouldn't be that easily forgiven by the Hokage, so Sasuke was skeptical about the entire thing.

"I defected, dobe. You want me to believe that Konoha would accept me back with open arms?"

"Should your efforts in defeating Akatsuki suffice, as the Godaime Hokage, I can take it into consideration and give you a lighter sentence, Sasuke." The sudden appearance of the Godaime Hokage surprised Sasuke, since he was hiding his presence perfectly. There was only one way that she would know he was there and that happened to be the reason Naruto was smiling at him now. Sasuke snorted at such betrayal, but then he really shouldn't judge, seeing as he did the same thing four years ago. Now extending his senses, he could spot the Anbu team hiding in the shadows, as well as four strong presences surrounding him. He turned to the Hokage, next.

"What happens if I decline?" Tsunade smiled dangerously at the kid Uchiha.

"You really don't want to know kid. Suffice to say that we know two certain individuals that would love to get to know you better." Sasuke was clueless about the identities of these two, but the hidden Anbu weren't. Certainly Anko and Ibiki would love to have a go with Sasuke in reference to the secrets he learned while in Akatsuki and Orochimaru's presence. Sasuke turned to think for a while, before looking at the dobe to see that he was still smiling at him as if he already knew his answer.

"Teme, ever since we became genin, you're dying for some action. Now you're hesitating in fighting against S-ranked opponents. What happened to that teme who wouldn't back down from any challenge?"

Sasuke couldn't help but snort at the question, but everyone was surprised to see a small amount of humor in Sasuke's response.

"If you are able to face them dobe, then these guys may not be as tough as they sound. I'm in."

* * *

**Author Note**

Okay, who believed that Sasuke would return, huh? Now that he is once more a ninja for Konoha, we move forward to the final confrontation between Akatsuki and the Alliance.

I know that is a relatively short chapter, but it served merely to settled the Sasuke issue.

Any thoughts? Complaints? Curses? I'm all ears here.

See ya.


	23. Final Battle Part I

_**Author Note**_

* * *

_Hello there everyone and welcome to another chapter of "Regret". _

_I don't know about you all, but it gets harder to write the final chapters as everything needs to be taken into account. I can't simply divulge the same focus as I do on regular chapters from fear of dragging the events further than it needs to be. Now enough of rambling, let's get on it. Well, last chapter, a major event happened with Sasuke taking Itachi's body to Konoha and being found out by Naruto. In the end, he joined the assault against Akatsuki, even if he had his back against the wall. Now, we prepare the final preparations for the upcoming battle against the most feared organization ever to roam the elemental nations. Before, though, I'd like to answer some of the reviews._

_**RoyalKingUzumaki**__ – Sasuke is still an ass, but in my opinion, he was manipulated the entire time: (i) First by his brother; (ii) then by the villagers constantly praising him; (iii) then Orochimaru and lastly (iv) Obito; not to mention that Itachi would come once in a while to keep the illusion. Also, I prefer to write Naruto and Sasuke's interaction as brothers who enjoy getting a rise out of the other. I believe it was Kishimoto's intention as well in the end, anyway._

_**Ethyrin Kairos**__ – He didn't know that Orochimaru implanted his own essence inside the cursed seal, so why should this be any different? The slave seal doesn't affect Sasuke's usage of chakra. The seal would only do so when and if activated. _

_**Dbtiger63**__ – The fight will be between the alliance and Akatsuki alone. Kabuto and his resurrected army won't take part in it. _

_**Juniorreal**__ – He will have Itachi's eyes eventually. _

_With that out of the way, let us begin._

* * *

_**Chapter 23 – Final Battle Part 1**_

_**Beta: Kyuubi123**_

* * *

After convincing the young Uchiha, Tsunade was left with a couple of issues to take care of regarding the situation at hand, which not only meant more paperwork, but also meant dealing with sensitive issues. Uchiha Sasuke's crimes against Konoha were not so severe. The punk's only crime thus far was to abandon the village and join the company of the village's strongest criminals. The first item of the agenda involved keeping his presence in Konoha a secret. Doing so was easy by simply giving Sasuke an Anbu mask. He would not leave the perimeter of his old compound, so Tsunade would not need to worry about others finding out, at least not before the battle begins. The most sensitive topic was no doubt Itachi, or rather Itachi's corpse to be precise. After performing a quick diagnostic, Tsunade was able to conclude that Itachi's health situation was not that good to begin with.

Sasuke was surprised to hear that even before fighting him, Itachi didn't have much time left. He was even more surprised to hear that his health would not allow Itachi to fight at full strength.

Aside from the history behind it, Sasuke wanted to see if he had the skills to overcome his brother. He imagined that Itachi's defeat was more than proof of that. When asked about the disease, Tsunade said that she had to run more tests on Itachi to verify and come up with the cause and consequence. The medic Hokage understood Sasuke's concern, since Uchiha wise, Sasuke had also evolved his eyes to Itachi's level. He thus wondered if what Itachi suffered was due to the Mangenkyou Sharingan? Tsunade promised to find out more, but informed that she just could not perform the analysis like she would with any other, from fear of raising too many questions she didn't want to answer right now.

Shizune came up with the solution by installing the equipment inside one of the rooms provided by the empty Uchiha Compound.

With that out of the way, the final preparations was Shikaku's task. The teams were already accustomed to one another, so right now it was only a matter of placing the right team against the right enemy. The Nara clan head had gathered all possible information handled by Kumo and Suna. His job was focused on analyzing the members of the organization and list both their strengths and known weaknesses. The last part was easily the hardest. With all of them being s-ranked ninja, they simply had very few weakness or at least not ones that the alliance could capitalize upon as easily enough to kill them.

Shikaku called in his son for the job.

Shikamaru inherited most of his father's intellect, needing only experience to become like his old man. Together they could gather as much information as possible about the enemy hoping beyond hope that the alliance would win in the end. If not, then at least, they could weaken the enemy so that the Kages could move and deal with the organization for the last time. This was the last option, but logic dictated that a plan B was necessary.

* * *

**===With Naruto===**

* * *

Quickly parrying Sasuke's sword with his staff, Naruto moved in to strike Sasuke's shoulder, but Sasuke evaded and moved in for the strike, failing to land a hit. After taking care of everything, Sasuke wished to fight Naruto once more, this time limited to only physical abilities. Sasuke realized, though, that Naruto's skill with his weapon was on par with his own ability with the sword added by the sharingan. Naruto would attack already positioning himself for defense. Naruto's weapon was also a piece of work. No matter how much strength Sasuke used, Naruto's staff would not break. The worst part was that his opponent could strike from both parts of the staff, forcing Sasuke to keep his eyes peeled for unorthodox movements. The spar remained for half an hour, before Sasuke stopped all of a sudden. Naruto looked at his former teammate for a while, expecting some sort of deception, but Sasuke just returned his sword inside his scabbard, while looking at Naruto as if he was sizing the blond up.

"No offense Sasuke, but I don't swing that way." Naruto said with a smirk on his face as he saw Sasuke's angry expression on his face at the accusation. Naruto just shrugged. "I don't know if you're interested in women, since you've never shown anything."

"Don't be ridiculous…"

"I'm serious here…back when we were teammates; you could have chosen any girl to be with you. You instead avoided everyone like a plague. Now that I think about it, it actually makes sense." Sasuke frowned even more when Naruto placed a hand below his chin, pondering.

Sasuke's initial concern was how Naruto measured up to him as far as the shinobi arts, but when Naruto irritated him, he simply turned and walked off, not interested anymore. He may have improved greatly, but Naruto would always find something to make fun of. Still, it unsettled Sasuke that Naruto could be this good. Sasuke's training was not limited to only his own strength and speed. Orochimaru's second in command Kabuto has access to a great number of chemical substances that would increase the human body's potential. Sasuke's speed was a byproduct of his own training aided by Kabuto's prowess. Sasuke of course could not know that Naruto's incredible chakra reservoir allowed him to use more extreme methods of training. While Sasuke trained extensively throughout three years, Naruto could say he at least trained four if not five times what Sasuke did, by using his clones. In addition, if Sasuke were to believe what his eyes told him, Naruto's chakra reserves had only gotten larger.

"Is there something on your mind that you're standing there not saying anything?"

Once more Sasuke stopped thinking and merely turned and walked away. Naruto saw the Anbu squad leaving the area as well.

"Do you enjoy irritating him that much?" Naruto smirked as his girlfriend materialized behind him.

"I would be lying if I said no; I sort of missed messing with him that's all." Naruto then turned to face the cat mask. "You're still on duty?"

Yuugao inclined her head in question, before smiling at the way Naruto was positioned.

"Yes, I am. But that doesn't mean I can't wipe that smirk off your face." Yuugao said, before removing her ninjato out of its scabbard.

* * *

**===With Sasuke===**

* * *

While walking towards the Uchiha Compound, Sasuke calmly pondered on the events thus far. The Hokage prohibited him from setting foot near the more populated areas, but said prohibition was unneeded. He actually craved for zero interaction with others. He thought about a lot. He thought about his family; he thought about his brother and the reasons behind every choice Itachi made throughout his life. Ever since Sasuke could remember, Itachi was his role model, his idol. It was interesting that he would think more highly of Itachi than their own father. Uchiha Fugaku was the Uchiha Clan Head when Sasuke was born. Sasuke rarely saw his father do anything other than teaching him the Grand Fireball Technique ten years ago. Therefore, his eyes only settled on Itachi as his older brother showed time and time again why everyone considered him a prodigy. His brother knew everything about everything and what irritated Sasuke was that Itachi always made everything seem so easy. It irritated Sasuke even more when he tried it and failed miserably. Above all, Itachi was the only one in the clan, aside from Sasuke's mother, that treated him like family.

His father only had eyes for his skills as shinobi. His cousins would always come and talk to him about how lucky Sasuke was at being Fugaku's son and Itachi's brother. It was partially because of how kind Itachi was that Sasuke couldn't believe why Itachi walked along the path he created for himself. Sasuke looked up to see his old sensei Kakashi hanging by a tree while reading his orange book like usual. Sasuke kept walking as he passed by Kakashi.

"You seem pensive about something?" Sasuke stopped to address the grey haired jounin. His old sensei hadn't changed one bit, always looking bored to everything around him.

"Yes, I was enjoying some alone time until someone decided to ruin it." Kakashi simply smirked at the jab and placed his book inside his pants pocket, before approaching his former student. Kakashi always prided himself of grasping facial expressions. Every doujutsu user was actually. Sasuke was looking at the ground the entire time. "There is nothing you should concern yourself with Kakashi." Even if sensei knew that statement to be false, he knew that the student wouldn't share it with him. Sasuke never bothered to open up to Kakashi in the past, so he wouldn't even consider the possibility now as he had more time to ponder on his life events.

Kakashi didn't think too much of it, though.

"Suit yourself, though I was hoping to review a thing or two about Itachi that could clear your mind a bit." Sasuke looked at Kakashi with venom, but the sensei merely shrugged it off.

Kakashi grabbed his book once more and walked away, only to stop when Sasuke called for him.

"What is that you want to say?" Kakashi closed the book and placed both hands inside his pocket as he addressed Sasuke.

"I was hoping you had figured this out by now, but I guess your mind was clouded by your brother's deception." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his sensei for how the man described Itachi's actions thus far. Deception. A shinobi's most powerful tool meant for misdirection. The act of deliberately making somebody believe something untrue as the truth. Sasuke knew that what Itachi did was nothing far from that simple word…deception. He didn't know why, though.

"Itachi explained to me the truth, what he did not explain was the reason behind everything." Kakashi nodded, accepting Sasuke's reason.

"Well, then you really want to hear what I have to say to you." Sasuke looked suspiciously at his old sensei, wondering what Kakashi knew about his brother that he hadn't revealed yet.

* * *

**===Unknown Location===**

* * *

Their meeting were always carried in secluded and open places where they could hide from everyone and proceed with their occupation; extracting the bijuu from the jinchuuriki. Right now, though, the Akatsuki organization faced a different type of situation that neither of the members accounted for. The simple idea of more than two villages uniting even if for one specific goal was unheard of. Sure, there were several occasions in the past when two villages would get together to jointly rid themselves of a third village. Konoha was constantly bombarded by Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure and Kirigakure in the past three great ninja wars. There was never a time where three great ninja villages would form an alliance.

There was simply too much blood between them for anything to work properly.

When Zetsu communicated his findings, the organization leader Pein was skeptical. However, seeing as all the remaining bijuu are now gathered in Konoha, the leader couldn't find anything to refute. Initially, Pein thought of going to Konoha and capture them all. However, the man wasn't crazy enough to believe himself capable of dealing with four jinchuuriki, three kage and the entire Konoha force by himself. However, if the entire organization were to make a move, their odds would improve greatly. So, standing the middle of the dark cave, Pein and Konan waited as his peers came from various directions at once. Hidan and Kakuzu came from the east; Deidara and Tobi appeared from the west with Tobi introducing himself in his own goofy kind of way, which caused Deidara to snarl at him. Zetsu materialized from below the ground and Kisame appeared from within a water shunshin. Since Itachi was killed by Sasuke, the organization didn't have a suitable replacement to become Kisame's partner.

Kisame was never one to work with a partner. Even if he enjoyed his conversations with Itachi, there was never an occasion where they would join forces against an enemy.

A couple seconds of silence followed before Pein began the meeting.

"So far we've managed to capture five of the total nine bijuu. The Ichibi, Nibi, Hachibi and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, however, have eluded our capture thus far." Pein began surmising their situation.

"The damn Kyuubi Jinchuuriki ruined the Ichibi's capture. That damn brat will receive a piece of my art soon." It was no secret how angry Deidara became of Naruto for completely defeating him and still able to defeat Sasori using the fox's chakra. Indeed, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's sudden increase in skill and prowess with the fox's chakra took everyone by surprise. Three years ago, Uzumaki Naruto was brash, brainless and hyperactive enough to easily be caught in a trap. In fact when the organization started hunting the jinchuuriki, it was settled that Naruto would be their easiest pray. The Sandaime Hokage played a big favor in not allowing anyone to train the boy into becoming a weapon for the village.

"Konoha had also played against us in capturing the Nibi Jinchuuriki. The Raikage wouldn't be aware of our presence fast enough to stop the capture." Kakuzu stated earning various nods.

"Now the hidden village in the leaves has managed an impossible feat, convincing Suna and Kumogakure into joining forces against Akatsuki." The meeting fell into deep and dreaded silence, as the voice that made the final statement didn't come from any of them. Deidara looked at his goofy partner and nearly jumped off the floor when Tobi's posture shifted completely. Kisame looked murderous at the direction of the voice, since he remembered it belonged to the Sandaime Mizukage. Kakuzu and Hidan narrowed his eyebrows towards the specific direction as well. All of them looked at Tobi, all of them clueless except Pein and Konan who already knew about Tobi's real identity, but didn't know the man would be revealing it to the others. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." Tobi said, just as the right sharingan eye appeared.

"….Madara?" Konan mumbled in surprise.

"Huh, this world is full of lies and deceit; to have fooled everyone here for so long. You certainly hadn't changed one bit, Sandaime Mizukage-sama." Now Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at Kisame.

The man had contacts in the black market and thus he had knowledge of rumors preceding the Civil War in Kirigakure. He even had knowledge of how the Sanbi Jinchuuriki and Yondaime Mizukage were being controlled by someone powerful the entire time. Being a mercenary, Kakuzu didn't have any issues with anything so long as said issues didn't mess with his bounties. He was in for the money after all. Kakuzu was also considered a highly experienced individual and thus didn't require much time to come to a vital realization. It became obvious when he heard the man's name and saw the sharingan eye.

"I assume that you orchestrated this entire organization from the shadows then." Tobi's amused and controlled laughter set everyone on edge. His presence alone made everyone on edge.

Even Pein looked intimidated by the man's presence and that was saying something.

"Certainly it's nice to see you once more Kisame. Your words are flattering. And you're right Kakuzu-san; I've been running this organization from the shadows since the very beginning. I would be remiss, however, in presuming that all of you feel betrayed by following Pein's presumed leadership. In normal circumstances, I wouldn't feel the need to reveal my true identity. Events, however, changed my initial endeavor. Konoha and in particular, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki played a huge part in changing the normal course of our plan. Now, the three village alliance managed to unite their strongest fighters followed by the remaining four jinchuuriki to engage against Akatsuki. Jiraiya of the Sannin and Hatake no Kakashi are among them."

Deidara and Hidan, being the most hyperactive members of the organization, voiced their displeasure at being ordered around by an Uchiha. Kakuzu and Kisame, though sharing their protest, didn't voice it. They were smart enough not to outright pressure Uchiha Madara into anything. They were also smart enough to realize that not following the man now was out of the question. In the end, though, both Kakuzu and Kisame figured that the following fights would be to their advantage. Kakuzu would be able to receive the bounties and Kisame would face powerful opponents to satisfy his urge for battle.

"Do you believe we should unite forces against them and march towards Konoha?" It was Konan who asked, earning a nod from the masked Uchiha.

"While it's true that Suna and Kumo have their most powerful shinobi stationed in Konoha, the fact remains that the remaining jinchuuriki are all gathered in one place, making it easy for us to capture all of the jinchuuriki once and for all. I'd imagine that some of you don't wish to remain loyal to Akatsuki, so for those who don't wish to remain, can walk away." Being S-ranked criminals had given all of the Akatsuki members some sort of clairvoyance when it comes to sensing danger, or at least a danger level far above what they are used to. Simply believing that they could walk away from Akatsuki without any form of punishment was ridiculous; also believing that they wouldn't have their heads cut off after doing so was even more ridiculous and even laughable.

"As if you wouldn't kill us if that ever was our decision?" Kakuzu snorted, earning a mock laughter from Tobi. He really could see that Kakuzu became insulted.

"Indeed that would be the penalty but I never said anything about prohibition, did I?" This time everyone released a snort of derision. "Attack when they least expect it, instead of allowing them to come prepared against us." Tobi said before vanishing within his own space-time ninjutsu in front of everyone. The rest of the members stood there dumbfounded as never in their wildest imaginations could they believe that the clown Tobi was in fact the shadow leader of the organization. The name Uchiha Madara was known by most as a legend, but only Kakuzu could truly state what it was to face such a man as he was the eldest in the group. The former Takigakure ninja was not surprised that the man was alive, because he also had found a way to beat death, even if said method involved taking the lives of others.

* * *

**===In Fire Country===**

* * *

All the members of the Akatsuki, excluding Tobi, were casually walking towards the green fields of Fire Country, heading straight towards Konoha. Zetsu was below ground, working his sensory magic by tracking any nearby shinobi who could warn of their presence ahead of time. There wasn't a doubt in their minds that no one would be able to spot them without either S-ranked shinobi knowing it in advance and dealing with the threat appropriately, but they needed to catch Konoha by surprise. The absence of their shadow leader was a bit unnerving for the group, but no one dared to question Pein about this entire mess. Leader or not, Pein was the strongest of them all and possessor of the legendary dojutsu. The fact that his full power remained a mystery to everyone only fuels the organization's uncertainty of what exactly his abilities were. Of course, one of the group had to act stupid and that was Hidan.

"Oi _leader-sama, _what's the deal here huh? If you're actually our leader." Everyone stopped and looked to the fool.

"Hidan, shut up…" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at his partner, while questioning the man's stupidity.

"No, I'm not going to shut up Kakuzu. I don't know who the hell appointed you as the leader, just because of those stupid eyes." Pein looked at the silver haired member with stoic visage.

"You question me, believing that no matter what I do, I wouldn't be able to kill you. But how about if your soul ever left your body?" Hidan was immediately startled as Pein focused his measure of killing intent added by the rinnegan. Removing one's soul was pretty much unheard of in the shinobi world, but Hidan couldn't find himself to believe that Pein was just bluffing. Thanks to his sacrifices, Hidan's body achieved immortality. He didn't know what would happen if his soul was detached from his body. Pein just kept walking towards their destination while the group followed, with the exception of Hidan who couldn't stop shivering at the sudden possibility of being killed. It was definitely not a good feeling for someone who considered himself immortal.

As the Akatsuki group ventured beneath the forests that surrounded Konohagakure, none of them noticed a small blue toad wearing red vest and goggles.

The small amphibian went through hand seals immediately before slamming both hands on the ground.

The members of the Akatsuki were startled by the sudden smoke, since Zetsu was nowhere to be seen or felt. All of a sudden, fifty-foot read toad wearing a blue kimono appeared in front of the Akatsuki members, before Gamabunta opened his mouth. From within, the three teams from the alliance charged and got into position in front of their enemy. The Konoha-nin were smiling that their plan worked in the end. Allowing these guys to invade Konoha would no doubt result in full destruction. At least, now, they could fight head-on, knowing that no damage would befall Konoha and its citizens. The rest of the alliance just didn't have the same concern.

"It seems Shikamaru's concern proved merit, huh." Naruto turned to Jiraiya who nodded. In one of the meetings, Shikamaru theorized that there was nothing keeping Akatsuki from attacking the village, since the alliance ended up gathering the remaining jinchuuriki in one place, making it easier to capture them. So, Jiraiya conversed with the toads so that they could form a ring around the village forests so as to anticipate their movements and summon the teams directly to the location. It worked like a charm. All they had to do now was deal with the S-ranked criminals for good. Personally, it was Jiraiya's and Naruto's favorite part of the plan.

"That kid is just like his father. You'd think that clan of smartasses could see the future. Gamabunta, please do as we planned." The gigantic toad nodded, before gathering as much air as possible. He hurled a gigantic water ball at the Akatsuki group, forcing them all to scatter. Gamabunta even added another attack and charged with his sword. The teams soon followed, each one picking their target. It was decided that Jiraiya's team would choose the members they knew next to nothing about. Being the strongest member of the group, he would be more equipped to handle surprises than the rest. With his job done, Gamabunta left. Jiraiya's team stood in the center, facing Pein and Konan. Gaara's team faced off against Hidan and Kakuzu. Team Darui was pitted against Deidara and Kisame.

* * *

**===Team Jiraiya===**

* * *

With the plan accomplished, Jiraiya and his team stood in front of Pein and Konan. To Naruto and the rest, Jiriaya appeared focused in the upcoming battle. However, the man was unbelievably perplexed at what or actually, who stood before him. Jiraiya knew that no genjutsu was casted on him, so that meant that these two whom he believed were dead, were now facing him in open combat. Jiraiya could not help but remember his happy memories with the three orphans he encountered right after the sannin's fight against Hanzou the Salamander a long time ago. Picturing those three as responsible for the chaos that emerged in the elemental nations brought shame to him. He thought he had trained them better than this.

"It's been too long, hasn't it, Jiraiya-sensei?" Pein greeted, earning a snarl from the sannin and a questioning look directed at him from Naruto and the others.

"What is the man talking about?" Jiraiya ignored Naruto's question, as he needed answers right now. The man before him was similar to the eldest orphan Yahiko, but the rinnegan eyes were a surprise. As far as he remembered, only Nagato had the rinnegan.

"Yahiko, why are you doing all this? What happened to the three of you after I left?"

Konan and Pein kept looking at their old sensei with apathy, though neither of the two enjoyed hearing the name of their best friend/lover.

"Yahiko is no more, Jiraiya-sensei." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the information. It should not be possible as this man could not be Nagato. Nagato's appearance was much different.

Jiraiya then turned to the rest as they waited for an explanation.

"Back when the Second Great Ninja War was in full swing, Amegakure was the center of the war as the country shared borders with Fire, Earth and Wind Country. Thus, more rather than not, Rain Country became the battle stage. At the time, Ame's leader Hanzou the Salamander managed to drive everyone away from his country, including the sannin formed by myself, Orochimaru and Tsunade." Kazetakai nodded as he remembered being just a chunnin at the time. "At the time, we three just couldn't beat Hanzou, so we escaped. We managed to find a hideout to rest and then return to Konoha, when I found three kids hiding from us. At the time, Tsunade did not care about them and Orochimaru actually wanted to kill them, but I believed that it would be better to give them some training so that they could better protect themselves in such a dangerous environment. I stayed with them and trained them for a couple of years before leaving. I have not heard of them ever again and had actually heard rumors that they were killed. Two of those kids are standing in front of us right now. One of them has the rinnegan and the woman possesses a paper manipulation bloodline." Half of Jiraiya was conflicted about sharing this info against the three orphans he went out of his way to help. However, those three orphans were now the leaders of the organization that was threatening to kill his godson as well as destroy the entire elemental nations.

Naruto kept looking at the enemies and tried picturing any similarities with himself. Usually, those who were trained by the same man had similar goals and way of thinking.

That was the logic of being chosen by the Gama Sannin.

The man would not just waste his time training someone that did not share his view of things.

"I do not wish to extend this anymore than we already had, Jiraiya-sensei. Hand us the jinchuuriki already and I won't kill any of you." The team narrowed their eyes at the threat.

The team saw Konan's body transform into loads of paper, before charging straight at them. Immediately, Kazetakai took a step back as the other four went through hand seals. Jyuukaze and Naruto provided the wind while Sasuke and Jiraiya gathered air inside their lungs for the grand fireball technique. All the paper immediately combusted, but the wind induced fire technique still had enough strength and speed. The combined ninjutsu reached Pein, who simply stood there unmoving. He lifted his right hand, before an unknown force repelled the combined ninjutsu as if it was nothing. Right afterward, Konan emerged by his side slightly burned, but otherwise fine. Jiraiya and the others kept looking at the rinnegan user, wondering how he managed to do repel a combined ninjutsu so easily like that.

"Any effort on your part is useless against a god." To prove his point, Pein lifted his right leg and kicked Kazetakai right in the chest. The Suna jounin attempted to use an invisibility genjutsu to approach the enemy.

Kazetakai was sent flying towards his team, lacking air and bleeding from his mouth. The genjutsu user was secured by Jyuukaze and Naruto, while Jiraiya focused on the enemy. Against a dojutsu, genjutsu is practically useless. Kazetakai's attempt was due to the man getting into position behind the enemy's sight, meaning that Pein had sensor capabilities as well. The rinnegan still remained a mystery, however. Jiraiya could only theorize about it. Right now, the worst enemy was no doubt Nagato. He had a feeling that Konan could be easily dealt with by Sasuke and Naruto. Right now, it was better to take down the opposition rather than facing Pein altogether.

"Naruto, Sasuke, we need to take down Konan. You guys take her on?" The two youngsters of the group nodded, before they looked at each other with a smirk.

"We're on it." Naruto responded, earning a nod from Jiraiya who went through hand seals, while at the same time nodding towards Jyuukaze for some assistance.

_Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile Technique)_

_Fuuton Kamaitachi (Wind Release: Cutting Whirlwind Technique)_

The two combined techniques were aimed at Konan. Naruto and Sasuke were already moving as they had to take the opportunity and split the enemies apart. Sasuke was moving ahead with his sharingan blazing. The combined ninjutsu was soon stopped by Pein, using the same method as before. However, the smoke generated by Jiraiya's technique was enough to cloud their sight for a brief moment. Naruto and Sasuke quickly emerged from the smoke and Sasuke kicked Konan away from the group, while Naruto kept watch on Pein to see if he would attack Sasuke's back. Like he expected, a metal rod emerged from Pein's hand and with it, Pein moved to strike Naruto. Before the rod could pierce Naruto's heart, four chakra chains erupted from his back, parrying the rod and attacking Pein. The rinnegan user dodged them all effortlessly when Jiraiya appeared in front of him with his rasengan, forcing Pein's attention away from Naruto, who vanished towards Sasuke's position.

* * *

**===Naruto and Sasuke against Konan===**

* * *

As soon as Naruto reached Sasuke's position, he was surprised to see that Sasuke and Konan were already engaged in deep and close combat. Naruto could attest that Konan's paper bloodline was quite fearsome. Apparently, the paper could be folded into sharp shuriken and even paper bombs. Sasuke appeared to be struggling as he sliced every piece of paper that came at him with his sword. Some of them passed through and caused a few bruises along his arm. Naruto had to move quickly and assist. In one swift motion, Naruto appeared behind Sasuke and went through a quick succession of hand seals. He needed to stop the barrage of attacks.

_Suiton Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Wall Technique)_

The sudden appearance of the water wall forced Konan's paper attack to stop and it gave Sasuke some room to breathe.

"What took you so damn long?" Sasuke got into position as he looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes.

"The other guy attacked me, while you attacked her. I had to defend. Can you see where she is? I have to direct the water." Sasuke nodded and focused his sharingan past the water ninjutsu to spot her position. Naruto was already molding a few more hand signs when Sasuke pointed him in the right direction. The water wall was transformed into a giant dragon, before charging at Konan.

_Suiton Suiryuukiba no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Fang Technique)_

The woman quickly used her bloodline to evade the technique, however and moved in for another attack with her paper bloodline. Sasuke was prepared, however and exhaled a great fireball straight towards the place where the papers were gathered. The paper was scattered in random directions, all of a sudden, before materializing in another position. Reformed, Konan looked at her opponents. She could attest to their teamwork and it was something the Akatsuki did not expect. Sasuke went rogue a long time ago. They shouldn't have had the time to train such teamwork as just days ago, they were bitter enemies. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke looked at her with a frown.

"Can you see any weaknesses, Sasuke?" Sasuke negated with his head as he observed the woman with his sharingan.

"None so far…she can use her bloodline to evade any of our ninjutsu. Getting close also isn't an option as she can use her bloodline and transform into paper." Naruto frowned at the Intel, or the lack of for that matter. So far, despite having a numerical advantage against her, Konan had the advantage of an unknown bloodline that she could use to evade attacks and attack from long range. She was also fast enough to avoid receiving a direct hit from their ninjutsu. Any planning on their part would have to wait as Konan moved to strike them once more. They saw the paper suddenly form two separate wings on her back, earning a snarl from Sasuke at the obvious disadvantage. The woman could fly.

Suddenly, the wings were point towards them, before each sent a new barrage of paper towards them. Sasuke's sharingan could see that the paper were actually seals formulas.

"Paper bombs damn it." Naruto looked at Sasuke in surprise, before the attack hit the target. The paper hit the ground and caused one big explosion. For a moment, Konan believed that her attack was enough. She was surprised however, when a pillar of water rose from the smoke, before a wave was formed, charging straight at her with great speed. Konan was surprised with the sudden movement, but managed to get away from the technique.

_Suiton Suishoha (Water Release: Water Collision Destruction Technique)_

"Thank kami that I took the time and trained this technique; it's rather chakra taxing if you ask me." Sasuke kept looking at Naruto and was shocked at the amount of chakra just used by his teammate. The amount was simply ridiculous. Simply put, it was as much as his entire chakra supply and Naruto did not look any different afterward. Naruto turned to Sasuke. "In one of my relaxing periods, I've decided to check on some techniques and found a scroll about the Nidaime Hokage's suiton techniques. That was one of them, though the old bastard was able to use water techniques without any nearby source of water and twice as big." Naruto was smiling the entire time and Sasuke became unsettled. He decided to pester Naruto about it later, however.

"Do you have anything we can use against her?" Naruto negated with his head, looking worried before he remembered something about the Sharingan, or rather Itachi's Sharingan.

"I may have thought of something, but I'm afraid you won't like to hear it." Sasuke looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye, before Naruto released his idea. "How good are you in casting genjutsu just by looking at the enemy? Like your brother used to do it." Immediately, Sasuke regretted allowing Naruto to speak his mind. However, now was not the time to yell at Naruto for his comment. The damn enemy could turn them into pincushions for target practices.

"Explain…" Naruto could see that Sasuke was grinding his teeth and smirked.

"If you could trap her in a genjutsu for a few seconds, I could reach her position and deliver the killing blow." Sasuke nodded with a smile at Naruto's idea. He had not tested the Tsukyomi ability yet, but using ocular genjutsu was one of the Uchiha's many known abilities.

"Who would have thought a dobe such as yourself could come up with such a plan." Naruto smirked, but said nothing as he watched Konan direct her body towards the ground. "I'll attempt to stop her flight for a couple of seconds. You have that long to use it." Sasuke nodded as his eyes caught the paper user kunoichi descending towards them in great speed. In mere moments, Konan was upon Naruto before she positioned both her wings in stab position. Sasuke watched everything with his Mangenkyou Sharingan and wondered what Naruto would do in order to stop her. His eyes widened to impossible proportions when a sudden wind current erected around Naruto as if the man commanded the force of nature itself. If Sasuke was not facing such a dangerous battle, he would punch himself in the face for not seeing it being used against him. Immediately, using his mangenkyou sharingan, Sasuke looked directly at Konan's eyes, forcing her to submission just as Naruto stopped using his wind barrier technique. Not wasting any time, four chakra chains left Naruto's back and charged straight towards Konan's now exposed chest. She managed to dispel the illusion quickly enough, but it was not fast enough to stop the chains from piercing her in four different and vital areas around her body.

* * *

**===With Jiraiya===**

* * *

Jiraiya believed his odds would improve once the boys took Konan away from them. He knew that the woman preferred long range attacks and played the support style, meaning that he and the rest of the team would be facing the rinnegan as well as her paper attacks. With her occupied elsewhere, he could deal with Pein and Pein alone. However, what he believed was an advantage turned out to be the other way around. It began with Jyuukaze acting rash and falling victim to the enemy's metal rods. The other sand shinobi managed to get her out of the original path, thus Pein only pierced her stomach instead of her heart. However, the woman wouldn't be able to fight now. Jiraiya attempted to rush in when the enemy was occupied with the others, but Pein was fast. He used the same force to repel the ninjutsu, but the sannin saw the extended hand and got out of the way, before engaging in taijutsu. Pein was hit by Jiraiya's kick followed by a rasengan, but Pein dodged the swirling ball of chakra and attacked Jiraiya with his metal rod. The sannin quickly evaded the attacks until he saw Kazetakai appear behind the enemy and perform hand seals.

_Doton Doryuusou_ _(Earth Release: Earth Rising Spears Technique)_

Pein quickly jumped away from the spears and used his repelling force on both Jiraiya and Kazetakai, propelling them away. Jiraiya quickly summoned a toad to catch him in midair but Kazetakai wasn't so lucky. He tried using earth ninjutsu to soft the land, but still it hurt him pretty badly. The genjutsu user had a couple ribs cracked, but nothing he could not handle. He nodded at Jiraiya signaling that he was fine and returned to Jyuukaze to see if she was better. The woman had knowledge on medical chakra and was busy applying it on herself.

"I already said it was useless sensei. You can't defeat me and to further prove my point..." Pein said, before placing both hands on the ground, before the summoning markings appeared on the ground.

When five more individuals suddenly appeared next to Pein all having the rinnegan as well, Jiraiya realized that his odds just went from minimal to almost none. Both his teammates were out of commission for the moment and thus he had to face the enemy alone. If it was one thing he regretted right now it was sending Naruto and Sasuke away to deal with Konan. His regret turned out to be unfolded when he saw a gigantic meteor of fire charge straight at the six enemies. He identified the attack as Sasuke's grand fireball technique. Jiraiya was surprised when one of the rinnegan users turned towards the attack. A sudden white field enveloped the man right as the fire ninjutsu reached him. In less than two seconds, the attack was fully absorbed by the enemy as if nothing happened. Right afterward, Sasuke and Naruto landed next to Jiraiya. Konan was secured by Naruto's chains and by the looks of things, she was unconscious.

"Sorry for taking so long Ero-sensei. The woman was quite a pain to deal with." Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face as he mentally counted a point in favor of the alliance.

Further looking at Konan's body, though, he could see four holes in her heart and lungs. He concluded the obvious immediately, but couldn't help but share a final prayer in sympathy for the little girl who offered him a paper made flower a long time ago. Now looking at Pein, Jiraiya wondered what the man's actions would be after seeing his friend dead in front of him. Pein considered himself a god, but would he be able to not feel anything. Sasuke took one step closer to Jiraiya.

"What can you tell us about him so far?" Jiraiya looked at Sasuke briefly and returned to the enemy.

"The rinnegan is a force not to be trifled with. So far, what I was able to gather from our fight is that through the rinnegan, he can use gravity related techniques. First, he used it to repel ninjutsu and then he used to repel me and Kazetakai like ragdolls. Now when you attacked one of them with your fireball, the enemy was able to absorb the attack, somehow. I can conclude that any ninjutsu near that guy is useless. He should be the first to be taken care of, I'm afraid. The rest remain unknown." Sasuke nodded as he saw the energy of his katon jutsu being absorbed. Apparently, Jiraiya wasn't finished. "We need to work together against this guy. Jyuukaze tried to go alone and was hurt pretty badly. She would be dead if it weren't for Kazetakai's interference."

"Anything else you remembered from training them in the past, Ero-sensei?" Naruto placed Konan on the ground behind him as he appeared next to Sasuke.

"The most I gave them was at least the ability to defend themselves; a few elemental ninjutsu, but nothing out of the ordinary. But Nagato had already awakened the rinnegan back then." Naruto nodded as he took his bo-staff while Sasuke had his sword with him. Jiraiya nodded at this but wondered what more secrets would be revealed by his first student and if said secrets would end up killing either Sasuke, Naruto or even himself before anyone was able to stop it. He needed to use trick he had available to him. It would be the first enemy he ever had to use it against.

* * *

_**Author Note**_

* * *

Ok that's enough for now. For those who enjoyed Konan's character, my apologies. However, from the Akatsuki, I believe that she was the easiest to kill. Now, I didn't say that she was the weakest of them all. Like Deidara, it was just a case of casting a genjutsu long enough so that another opponent could move for the kill. Itachi did it against the mad bomber when Akatsuki recruited him and Sasuke did the same thing when they fought.

Now the battle against Pein barely started and the rinnegan user had already showed how fearsome he is. Can Jiraiya, Sasuke and Naruto overcome such a force?

Next chapter, I'll be focusing on the other battles as well, so don't worry. There is plenty action still left in this story.

See ya.


End file.
